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Check-in I Our Guide

Stress-free travel: how to make sure your luggage never gets lost Few things are more disheartening than discovering your luggage is nowhere to be found as you arrive at your destination after a long flight. The desperate race to retrieve it can truly ruin a vacation, but just a few simple steps can help prevent such a thing from occurring / By Lihi Ron

01 Check-in early. The same way you make sure you have enough time for duty free shopping and a bite to eat before your flight, your luggage needs time to get itself labeled, scanned, and safely transferred onto the plane. Check-in online and get to the airport three hours before take-off, as it gives ground crew more time to take care of luggage and reduces the possibility for it getting lost. 02 Make sure your luggage is identifiable. Personalize your luggage with stickers and tags to make it stand out. Luggage that’s red, pink, or orange is always going to be the easiest to identify. Pro tip: take a picture of your luggage – it will help identify it if need be.

03 Use a Bluetooth tracker. It might not prevent airlines from losing your luggage, but if your suitcase does get lost, it’ll help locate it. All you need is an iPhone (AirTag), or a Samsung device (Smart Tag), or a universal tag (like Tile) and the corresponding app, and you’ll be updated on your luggage’s location a few minutes after touchdown. 04 Get rid of old tags. Not only are old tags with personal information not helpful in case of loss, they may also cause confusion in identifying your luggage on your current flight. Also, make sure your suitcase doesn’t have any old barcodes on it. A Canadian TikToker made a video explaining they can be scanned by mistake and get your luggage sent off to the wrong place.

05 Update the information on your luggage tag. The best way to keep your luggage safe is to keep it with you on the plane. But of course, bigger suitcases need to be checked. Make sure all your luggage has a tag with all your information on it, including your phone number, and even include an information tag inside your suitcase as it can be helpful in case it gets opened. 06 Choose direct flights. It may not always be possible, but if the option exists, choose a direct flight. This way, your luggage won’t be transferred between planes and the potential for it getting lost on the way is reduced. If it isn’t an option, opt for a long layover to ensure there’s more time for your luggage to be correctly processed between flights.

10 ATMOSPHERE NOVEMBER 2024