Air India loses 1 luggage out of every 36, highest in the world, claims report

Air India has earned the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of lost passenger luggage among global airlines, according to a ranking compiled by LuggageLosers.com. LuggageLosers.com, created by developer Pieter Levels, ranks airlines by the number of lost bags. Levels initiated this project after Spanish low-cost airline Vueling lost his girlfriend’s luggage two weeks ago, and it has not been returned yet. The website shows that Air India lost 50,001 bags in the past month. This translates to approximately one in every 36 passengers on Air India not finding their luggage upon arrival.

Luggage Lost Rankings

Following Air India in the ranking are West Jet Airlines and Aer Lingus. British Airways, the UK’s national carrier, is fourth with 72,594 lost bags in the last 30 days. Vueling, the airline that triggered the creation of LuggageLosers.com, is ninth with 17,219 lost bags over the same period. When the website launched on June 30, Vueling was ranked eighth.

Levels expressed his frustration on social media, stating, “I made this because Vueling lost my gf's suitcase 2 weeks ago and still haven't returned it. Realizing if I had a site like this I'd never book Vueling in the first place as it's #8 worst in losing luggage right now!”


Apart from Air India, India also topped the country with most airlines in luggage lost list. As per the report, airlines in India lost 1 in every 72 luggages.

How the Lost baggage ranking was compiled:

As per the website, Levels said that the "robot scrapers scour the internet 24/7 for people talking about their lost luggage and which airlines they flew, in 100+ different languages. By cross referencing that with actual lost luggage data it estimates very closely how much luggage is constantly being lost. And yes, it takes into account airline size differences by flights and fleet size. All major airlines are tracked 24/7".

He also highlighted the limitations of ranking. He said "Airlines don't publish live lost luggage data (probably for a reason). Using social media as a data source has limitations but seems to be a good proxy indicator when combined with historical lost luggage data. Probabilities and lost bags are live estimations."

Other Issues with Air India

Air India’s challenges extend beyond lost luggage. Passengers have also reported issues such as broken seats, dirty aircraft, and malfunctioning entertainment systems. Additionally, in May, a "mass sick leave" protest by Air India staffers caused significant flight disruptions.