What to Do When You Lose Your Luggage

Travel is stressful enough, but losing your precious luggage can up the ante for anxiety. Here are some helpful tips if your luggage decides to travel somewhere besides your final destination.

Before you fly:

Label your luggage. There are ID tags on luggage for a reason.

Save your luggage tag after you check your bag. This may seem like a no-brainer, but keeping this tag accessible is not always the most important item on a traveler’s mind when passports and boarding passes are also in the picture. Wherever you choose to keep your boarding pass, tuck your luggage tag there as well; they are typically the same size and shape.

Keep valuables with you. Pack any necessities and/or valuables in your carry-on bag, so long as they meet the TSA security requirements.

After you land:

Peruse. When you’re absolutely certain your luggage is not going to take its ride around the baggage carousel, take a quick glance around nearby carousels. Sometimes leftover, early or late luggage gets stacked with other bags that have lost their way.

Visit the lost luggage or customer service desk. There may be a specific desk for your airline, but if there is not, staff at the information desk will instruct you where to go.

Provide as many details as possible. When reporting lost baggage, include as much information as possible for delivery to your destination (address, phone numbers, etc.), and ask for approximate delivery times.