Anyone who has been on at least a dozen long-haul flights knows that feeling well: arriving at your destination after hours of travelling, passing through the airport maze and waiting at the conveyor belt for luggage that will simply never arrive.

In most cases, the lost luggage finds its way back home. Other times, however, the traces are lost for good: stolen or unclaimed, the luggage becomes a closed case. When the airline fails to trace it within a certain period, it usually provides a refund. If the luggage is later found, it remains in limbo for three months; if no one claims it, it ends up among the unclaimed items.
According to some estimates, this happens in 0.03% of cases: a small percentage, but one that when translated into numbers still represents a lot.

A curious case is that of Scottsboro, in Alabama, where there is a huge warehouse that has been selling lost luggage since 1970. The story goes that they have found everything from a camera from the NASA to a Barbie with 500 dollars hidden inside. But that is another story.

Ranking of airports with the most lost luggage

AirAdvisor, analysing passenger volume, reviews on Yelp and geo-localised lost luggage searches, has compiled a ranking of the airports where it is easiest to lose one's belongings. Average travel time from the gate to the baggage claim area was also among the evaluation criteria, as theft and loss remain a problem.

At the top of the ranking we find:

• London Heathrow (LHR)absolute record with 15,000 more searches than the runner-up.
  
• Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)It holds the record for negative reviews and interminable journey times - about 26 minutes from the gate to the baggage carousel.
  
• Followed by Dubai (DXB), Istanbul (IST) And Barcelona (BCN).
  

And Italy?
The first Italian airport in the ranking is Fiumicino (FCO) in 12th place, followed by Malpensa (MXP).
Sostravel.com's “Lost Luggage Concierge” report also confirms these trends.

The most efficient airports in baggage handling

Fortunately, there are also airports where the risk of losing luggage is very low. Here the journey from gate to collection is short, the handling is streamlined and the organisation excellent. Not surprisingly, they are often smaller airports.

Among the most virtuous:

• Darwin (DRW), Australiasafest in the world for luggage.
  
• Cardiff (CWL), Wales.
  
• Tijuana (TIJ), Mexico.
  

How to reduce the risk of lost luggage

Even those travelling to busy airports can adopt some strategies to reduce the risk of losing their luggage:

• Choose direct flightsless stopovers, less chance of logistical errors.
  
• Avoid peak periodsDuring the Christmas holidays, for example, there is a peak in lost luggage.
  
• Label your suitcase well, both outside and inside.
  
• Keep a change of clothes and necessities in your hand luggage.
  

Airport logistics is a huge, precise and fascinating machine - but not infallible.
Every suitcase that does not arrive tells a story of technical or human error. For those who study or work in the world of aviation and logistics, these data represent more than just statistics: they are real weak points on which to build innovation, efficiency and trust.