If you’re traveling during the festive season, keep a close eye on your luggage, as mishandling rates rise by about 30% over Christmas compared to the yearly average.

That’s according to travel experts at My Budget Break who found that Google searches for ‘lost luggage’ have increased by 17% in the last month as people frantically search for their lost bags.

The experts have enlisted aviation and baggage expert Caroline Vandy to tell all about why bags go missing – and how to protect your things from disappearing this Christmas.

Interestingly, the increase in missing bags is not just because more people travel at Christmas.

There are actually a number of factors to the hike in missing bags including increased baggage handling demands due to connecting flights, staffing change over the festive period and bad weather.

If there is a storm and flight schedules suffer as a result, connection times will be affected too, which can lead to more bags going missing, according to the expert.

Caroline explains that “all of these factors come together to form a consensus within the aviation industry that the festive season sees a higher incidence of baggage mishandling due to these compounded pressures of increased travel and operational demands.”

Paul Scott, founder of My Budget Break, said: “Luggage also tends to have a higher value than other times of the year as Christmas gifting ramps up.

“I suspect this is one of the reasons why we have spotted an increase in popularity for Apple AirTags at this time of year too, with 200,000 Google searches already this December for the piece of technology.”

Apple airtags are a great way to keep track of your luggage and help you to be reunited with lost items faster.

Where possible, it’s also smart to opt for direct flights over layovers. Try to choose a direct route to get to your destination to help minimise the risk.

If you’re packing lots of gifts for friends and family, consider bringing them with you in favour of posting them. A lot of companies offer the option for discrete delivery or to make your order as a gift, and this could be a smart way to ensure your gifts get to the recipient on time.

If, for example, you’re travelling lightly and only have hand luggage, but one of your Christmas gifts is over 100ml of liquid, you will be required to throw this away at the airport. Having it shipped directly can avoid potential mishandling or delays at the airport.