Having your luggage lost or mishandled can derail an exciting trip before it even begins.
When it comes to caring for travelers' baggage, some airports and airlines fare better than others.
The team of experts at Upgraded Points recently analyzed property complaint data from the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) FOIA Electronic Reading Room for the 60 busiest U.S. airports between 2015 and 2023, normalizing the data against annual passenger volumes to reveal which hubs are the best and worst when it comes to mishandling passengers' baggage. This includes lost, delayed, diverted or damaged luggage.
"Losing your luggage is a classic nightmare, turning a great trip into a frustrating ordeal," Keri Stooksbury, editor-in-chief at Upgraded Points, said in a statement. "We focused on airports and airlines with the highest rates of baggage mishaps to help inform future travelers while encouraging improvements in baggage handling processes."
Florida's major airports have some explaining to do, based on the latest research, with six airports from the Sunshine State ranking inside of the top 10 for the most complaints per 100,000 passengers.
The US Airports With the Most Baggage Complaints
- Orlando International Airport (MCO) — 1.81 complaints per 100K passengers
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) — 1.72 complaints per 100K passengers
- Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) — 1.71 complaints per 100K passengers
- Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) — 1.69 complaints per 100K passengers
- Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL) — 1.68 complaints per 100K passengers
- Miami International Airport (MIA) — 1.59 complaints per 100K passengers
- Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) — 1.54 complaints per 100K passengers
- Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) — 1.51 complaints per 100K passengers
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) — 1.49 complaints per 100K passengers
- Sacramento International Airport (SMF) — 1.41 complaints per 100K passengers
American Airlines planes at Miami International Airport. (photo by Patrick Clarke)
On the other end of the spectrum, the Midwest has done a decent job of taking care of travelers' items, with major airports in Kansas City, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Denver ranked among the top six for the least complaints per 100,000 passengers.
Top-performing San Francisco International Airport's complaint rate of 0.31 per 100,000 passengers is notably 72 percent lower than the study's national average.
The US Airports With the Least Baggage Complaints
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) — 0.31 complaints per 100K passengers
- Kansas City International Airport (MCI) — 0.42 complaints per 100K passengers
- Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) — 0.58 complaints per 100K passengers
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) — 0.59 complaints per 100K passengers
- Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) — 0.59 complaints per 100K passengers
- Denver International Airport (DEN) — 0.64 complaints per 100K passengers
Upgraded Points also looked at the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Air Travel Consumer Report, zeroing in on the number of mishandled bags per 100 enplaned bags from January to September 2024 for the 10 largest U.S. airlines and comparing those figures to 2023 to calculate year-over-year percentage changes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Big Four carriers are all featured among the worst airlines for baggage handling, with Alaska Airlines—which is merging with Hawaiian Airlines—also performing poorly.
The Worst U.S. Airlines for Mishandled Baggage
- American Airlines — 0.90 mishandled bags per 100 enplaned bags
- United Airlines — 0.68 mishandled bags per 100 enplaned bags
- Alaska Airlines — 0.64 mishandled bags per 100 enplaned bags
- Delta Air Lines — 0.49 mishandled bags per 100 enplaned bags
- Southwest Airlines — 0.44 mishandled bags per 100 enplaned bags
Allegiant and JetBlue were among the best airlines for baggage handling with mishandled rates of just 0.24 and 0.36 per 100 enplaned bags, respectively.
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