An incredible 5.2 billion passengers took to the skies in 2023, flying above the pre-pandemic total of 4.5 billion in 2019. But more passengers mean more mishandled bags – a total of 36 million worldwide last year – even though overall mishandling rates declined. Mishandling is an expensive headache for airlines. Each mishandled bag costs about US$ 150 according to SITA’s latest research, and this means milllions of dollars disappear from the bottom line per year, globally. (....)