Likelihood of losing your holiday luggage is taking off

IF YOU are still planning to jet off on a summer holiday, keep a close eye on your bags, because they might not be as safe as you would hope.

Travel insurance company Insureandgo says the number of insurance claims it received for lost luggage nearly doubled in the first six months of this year. It

received 2,094 claims between January and June, an 85 per cent increase on the same period in 2006.

Based on figures from the Association of European Airlines (AEA), Insureandgo said the number of bags lost throughout Europe rose 22 per cent over the same period, even though passenger numbers only rose 1.4 per cent.

The AEA figures exclude budget airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair, while Insureandgo's own claims come from customers flying with all carriers.

Perry Wilson, managing director of Insureandgo, said: "This is clearly a major problem for our customers and we urge the airline and airports industry to improve its performance.

"With the summer holiday season now in full swing, we can unfortunately expect more families' holidays to be ruined by lost baggage. We do all we can to help sort out our customers' problems as quickly as possible, but it is up to the airlines and airport authorities to limit this issue in the first place."

The AEA, an association of 31 major airlines, has also reported an increase in delayed luggage, when baggage is eventually reunited with its owner.

In the first quarter of 2007 the number of bags delayed increased from 15 to 15.4 for every thousand items of luggage. In the second quarter, as the summer holiday season picked up, the rate increased from 13.1 in 2006 to 16.0 in 2007.

Grey's Anatomy and Knocked Up star Katherine Heigl was the victim of lost luggage in July after an American Airlines flight between New York and Los Angeles. Victoria Beckham famously won a substantial pay-out from British Airways when her luggage was lost after a flight from Miami to Heathrow in 2000.