Losing your bags when traveling can be very devastating. It is one of the most dreaded travel inconveniences, especially if you needed to catch another flight in just a matter of hours. But bags don’t just get lost at the airport alone. Without proper caution, they can get lost virtually anywhere, including at the hotel or on your way to the taxi. Therefore, the knowledge of knowing how to take good care of your luggage when traveling is vital so that you reduce the chances of running into this kind of inconvenience. Just as you go for smart traveling choices such as using online passport renewal, you should also be smart when it comes to stopping your luggage from getting lost.
Highlighted here are a few tips to help you ensure that you don’t just lose your luggage during your trips-I:
Avoid connecting flights
The first tip towards reducing the chances of losing your bags when you travel is to book direct, non-stop flights if possible. As such, you potentially reduce the number of transfers your bags will have to undergo, thus also reducing the chances of them getting lost or misplaced. But with connecting flights, there will be lots of transfers, and sometimes you may never know when or where the bag was lost.
Check your bags early
If you arrive late with just a few minutes to check in, it is possible that your bag may miss the flight. This is especially when you are very late such that the boarding gate is almost getting closed. If you want to avoid such a hassle, simply check in early, at least one hour before departure so that you are assured that your luggage will also find its way on the flight in good time.
For connecting flights, go for a long layover
If you have to connect flights, then ensure that you have long layovers so that both you and your luggage will make it to the next flight. If you have a short layover, any slight delay in your flight may make you miss the next flight. Additionally, if your luggage was left behind at the last airport, a short layover may not allow you ample time to wait for it. You may be compelled to miss your flight as you wait for your luggage or just go without it and hope it will somehow find you.
Remove all the old security and airline tags
When your bag has old airline and security tags, it is possible for them to be headed towards the wrong direction. Before you leave any airport, remember to have no old stickers or tags on the bags.
Ensure the luggage has no long straps or anything dangling
When your bag has straps or things dangling from it, they could easily get stuck or just get knocked off the luggage handling system, and if no one notices them in good time, they may not make it to the flight. Therefore, before checking in your bags, be sure that they are intact and there are no long straps or items hanging from it.
Check the tags place for accuracy
Mistakes do happen and it is possible for the airline operators to place wrong tags on your luggage and this is how it can find itself in a different airport other than the one you are headed to. The ticket agents do this all the time and if you are misguided to trust them without checking the tags they place on your luggage, you will lose your luggage every now and then. Just take time to check that the tags are correct and they correspond to your travel information.
Identify the ownership of your bag inside and out
Most people usually have ID tags on the outside, but ideally, you should have two: one on the outside and one on the inside. It is recommended to have your business card, along with your itinerary, as well as the hotel and the contact phone numbers also inside the bag. This is so that if the outside ID tag gets broken, and the airline luggage tag is also torn off, there will still be means by the handlers to know whose bag it is and how to get it to the owner. If such a thing happens and there is no ID inside the bag, you can expect to never see your bag again.
Upgrade your luggage tag
You can decide to go for a smarter luggage tag to further make it difficult for you to lose your luggage while traveling. There are several high tech companies making different kinds of tags with microchips or codes which travelers can use to detect when their luggage is lost. With these kinds of tags, it becomes easy for the owner as well as the airport staff to locate any lost or misplaced luggage.
Ship your bags instead of checking them in
This may sound a little bit crazy, but it is one of the best ways you can ensure to never lose your bags when traveling. This comes with a lot of benefits such as having the ability to travel with slightly heavier bags and without having to pay for extra kg when checking in. The only challenge is that your luggage may arrive late, but if you plan ahead properly, then you can always send your bags to your hotel before you travel and have them waiting for you upon arrival.
Take photos of your bags
If you lose your bag and you are attempting to get it back, having photo evidence of the bag may make the process easier when dealing with the authorities. With the pictures of the bag, the airport officials attempting to locate it will have an easy time searching, instead of relying on the verbal description you might have given them. It is also a good idea to take a photo of the bag-claim ticket so that you have some kind of back up if you lose it as well.
Be sure to use these tips every time you are traveling. It would be devastating to do all things efficiently, including using online passport renewal, only for you to be less vigilant about taking good care of your luggage and end up losing it.