"Airlines struggle to handle baggage"

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Airlines struggle to handle baggage
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON -- The number of bags lost or delayed by airlines continues to
climb, with a daily average of 14,089 in August, the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics said Wednesday.

It was the worst month for baggage-handling since the one-time meltdown in
December 2004. Massive problems with US Airways' baggage handling over the
holidays then were largely responsible for a spike in lost baggage reports -
9.11 per 1,000 passengers - and a number of flight cancellations.

For every 1,000 passengers in August, 8.08 bags were reported lost or
delayed, up from both July's rate of 6.5 and the August 2005 rate of 6.4.

Trouble with checked bags was partly the result of a ban on liquids and gels
in carryon luggage after an alleged plot to bomb U.S.-bound jetliners was
foiled in Britain.

Passengers who normally carried their luggage began checking it to avoid
having their toiletries confiscated by security screeners.

"The increased number of bags being checked resulted in more mishandlings,"
said David Castelveter, spokesman for the airline trade group Air Transport
Association.

The ban was lifted six weeks later after officials decided small amounts of
liquids and gels could be carried aboard airplanes if they were put in a
quart-size plastic bag.

But the trend is for more bags to be lost, stolen, mishandled or damaged.
The number of mishandled bags was 23 percent higher in 2005 than in 2004.

Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition, said seasoned
business travelers anticipated bag handling problems during the busy summer
months.

He blamed short staffing and strapped baggage-handling systems.

"I don't think anyone is surprised," Mitchell said.

On the Net:

Transportation Security Administration: http://www.tsa.gov

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