The chaos at German airports does not stop. Lack of staff leads to cancellations, delays and missing suitcases. In general, it is advisable to take as little luggage as possible with you. If you want or have to check in a suitcase, you can minimize the risk of losing it with these simple tips.
Grey, black and dark blue are among the most common suitcase colors. At the baggage carousel, it can therefore quickly happen that someone grabs the wrong one and disappears with it before the mix-up is noticed. That’s why it’s worth showing your colors when it comes to your suitcase or bag. Bold colors or a special pattern help you to recognize your suitcase immediately. If possible, do without designer pieces, which attract thieves who speculate on expensive content.
Thomas Kirner, Head of Passenger Communications, also gives the tip on the website of Frankfurt Airport: “Individual stickers, a colorful luggage strap, a sign stuck on with fabric tape, suitcase covers or even a piece of gift ribbon on the handle have proven useful.” It is also important to provide the suitcase “with clearly visible and legible ownership and address information both on the outside and on the inside”.
When packing your suitcase, make sure that no unauthorized objects get into it. Because every piece of luggage is x-rayed before loading. If the security officers notice something, the suitcase must be opened and checked. This can take time – and the luggage may miss the plane for this reason. Therefore, always check on the airline’s website what can and cannot be carried in the suitcase.
In general, valuable items, important medication and documents should be stowed in hand luggage. If the suitcase really doesn’t turn up anymore, at least you have minimized the financial damage – and you have medical care. If you are traveling with the family, you can also distribute the contents of the individual passengers across several suitcases. If individual suitcases take longer to arrive at their destination, everyone is provided with clothes.
If the suitcase is lost, a photo of the piece of luggage will help the employees in the “Lost and Found” area to find it again. It is best to be in the picture yourself. Then you can prove immediately that it is actually your own suitcase. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also photograph the contents. Then afterwards you have in black and white everything that was in the suitcase.
Before proceeding to check-in, remove any old tags from previous flights. Otherwise, there could be confusion or problems when employees read the destination from the old label.
The likelihood of the suitcase disappearing is lowest on non-stop flights. Most of the time, the luggage gets lost when being transferred from one plane to the next.
