How to Keep Your Check-in Luggage From Being Lost or Stolen

Summer 2022 was going to be the summer of revenge travel. Avid travelers were going to enjoy exploring all the places they couldn't during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, 8.7 out of every 1,000 international passengers' suitcases did not arrive on time. News reports worldwide posted dozens of pictures of lost luggage piles in tons of airports.

So if you want to bring check-in luggage for your next trip, how can you keep it from getting lost or stolen during transit? Is it even possible?

Yes, it is! There are plenty of tips and tricks you can use so your luggage is always waiting for you in baggage claim. This guide has all the best ones.

Invest in the Best Check-In Luggage Bag

Some bags are better for check-in luggage than others. You need a robust bag that will take lots of manhandling, bumps, and bangs.

Choose a hard or soft-shell suitcase from a reputable brand like Away, Eastpak, or Samsonite. Suitcases with four wheels are much better at holding the weight of your luggage than two wheels.

Avoid suitcases with exterior zips and pockets. You might forget to close them which will lead whatever is inside the pockets to fall out. There's no way you'd forget to close your suitcase's main compartment zip!

Try not to use backpacks and duffle bags as check-in luggage if you don't have to. The straps, zips, pockets, and softer material on these bags are more likely to get caught on the mechanisms of the luggage ramps. Even if an airport staff member notices the rip and fixes it with duct tape, you might still lose items.

Choose a Distinctive Style of Luggage

Let's say the worst happens and you need to locate your lost luggage. You need to describe what your luggage looks like to an airline or airport staff member.

If there are dozens of other pieces of lost luggage, do you think your bag is going to be easy to locate if it's black or gray? No, it's going to be a nightmare.

Choose a distinctive pattern or color for your suitcase so you, or airport staff, can recognize it in an instant. Yes, scuffs and stains will be more visible if your suitcase isn't black but not losing your luggage will be worth it.

Tie multi-colored luggage straps and ribbons on it too.

Remove Old Airline Baggage Tags

If you travel by airplane a lot, you might have tons of old airline baggage tags on your suitcase. These can confuse airline staff if they scan the barcode on the wrong baggage tag by accident.

And if staff aren't 100% sure of where a bag should go, it will not leave the airport. Rip them all off before venturing on your next trip.

Attach a Luggage Tag to Your Check-In Bag

Luggage tags aren't a fool-proof plan. They sometimes fall off and there's no predicting whether anyone will pay attention to them. But it's still good practice to write your details on a tag and attach it to your suitcase.

If someone with a similar bag takes yours by mistake at baggage claim, they will be able to call you if your number is on the bag. And if an airline employee finds it in a pile of other lost luggage, they will be able to contact you too.

Write your name, home city/country, phone number, or email address on the tag for situations like these. You could also add an extra tag with the place you are visiting on vacation too.

Check Your Luggage In Early

Let's say you arrive at the airport three hours early and you are one of the first passengers on your flight to check in your bag. The airport staff has plenty of time to process your bag and transfer it onto your plane.

Now let's say you arrive 40 minutes before your flight departs and check-in is about to close. You manage to run through check-in and security to the gate and make your flight in the nick of time. But that doesn't mean your bag did.

Airline crews are not going to hustle and break their backs loading delayed suitcases onto flights. If they do not receive your bag in an adequate amount of time to load it onto your flight, it won't leave and you'll be none the wiser. Check your luggage in early!

Book Direct Flights and Avoid Layovers

It makes sense that the fewer times airline and airport staff have to handle your luggage, the less likely something will go wrong. If it's not too much more expensive, consider booking direct flights rather than flights with layovers.

Attach a Luggage Tracker to Your Case

By far one of the best ways to ensure you never lose your check-in luggage is to attach a luggage tracker. These are Bluetooth devices that you can attach to your suitcase and connect to your phone. That way, you can follow your suitcase's journey so that you know where it is at all times. Get the best rechargeable trackers that works with the large Apple Find My network to ensure best connectivity possible.

Never Lose Your Check-In Luggage Again

In a perfect world, you would travel carry-on only and keep all your variables with you. But that's not realistic for every situation. Now you know how to keep your check-in luggage safe, you can travel with peace of mind!

Pebblebee products are a necessity if you never want to experience the anguish of losing your luggage again. You will always know exactly where your valuables are so you can take the right steps to reunite with them again.

Check out our range of tracking technology to pick the best Pebblebee product for your needs!