Travellers turn to Bluetooth bag trackers after ‘summer of lost luggage’

theguardian.com:

A coin-sized piece of consumer electronics proved the surprise hit of the summer with travellers.

After a spring of surging insurance claims and widespread images of piled-up baggage, many will have felt some trepidation at seeing their suitcase whisked into the maw of the airport baggage system.

International data from the US showed rates of mishandled luggage climbed as the rebound in passenger numbers was met an understaffed aviation sector, leading more nervous travellers to invest in Bluetooth tracking devices to monitor their suitcase’s journey online.

The UK regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, does not hold such figures but delivery appears to have improved over the summer. Cuts to flight schedules and an urgent hiring spree staved off a feared “summer of lost luggage” at UK airports, although analysts believe the industry is not yet out of the woods.

The cap on passenger numbers at airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick, and large schedule cuts by airlines such as British Airways brought relief to ground handlers and a better experience for passengers, with consumer organisations receiving fewer complaints of lost bags.

At Heathrow and other airports, the arrivals board now no longer just tells when a plane has landed, but also if the bags have been delivered. The airport’s notorious “baggage mountain” in June was due to technical failure in the 50-year-old automated system in Terminal 2. But most pile-ups have been due to lack of staff – not simply in baggage handling but in all parts of aviation, from check-in to air traffic control.

Any flight delays leave scarce ground handlers out of position to attend to planes, causing delays to accumulate, with baggage issues only adding to the mix.

Lost bags are not only a