Air travel comes with its fair share of headaches, from enduring long security queues to squeezing into economy seats and braving some questionable airplane meals. But the pinnacle of stress for many travellers is undoubtedly when their luggage goes missing.

An anonymous baggage handler, employed by a leading US airline, has spilled the beans on why so many bags seem to vanish into thin air.

According to this insider, those flying to major airports with extended layovers are at a higher risk of losing their belongings.

The baggage handler took to Reddit to share their insights: “Your luggage will get lost during transferring at a large hub where there is a lot of time between your flights.”

They explained that bags often end up forgotten on a drop cart, only for the crew who load the luggage hours later to overlook them, resulting in the bags being left behind.

But there’s more to the story.

Another Reddit user pointed out that failing to remove old luggage tags can increase the chances of misplacement: “The reason some bags miss their flight or get misrouted is because passengers don’t remove old tags.

It confuses handlers as well as the conveyor belt scanners. I see it happen all the time.”

A staggering statistic from the Express reveals that between 2021 and 2024, over seven million people experienced the inconvenience of lost luggage while jet-setting around the globe, reports the Mirror.

Gareth Llewellyn, travel and luxury holiday expert for Chaka Travel said another way to ensure your bag stays with you for your trip is to make sure it’s within all the weight limits.

He said: “There are several reasons for strict airline weight limits including fuel efficiency, logistics and safety.”

“If your baggage exceeds these limits, it’s likely to be set aside for assisted and specialist handling, which means there is more of a chance of it going missing.”