Lost or delayed luggage continues to be a frequent problem for passengers traveling to Europe, a region where the risk of a bag being mishandled is almost double the global average.
According to an analysis carried out by AirAdvisor for 2025, the most reliable airline in baggage handling is British Airways, while Air France is at the bottom of the ranking among the major operators.
Data from aviation technology company SITA shows that globally 6.3 bags per 1,000 passengers are mishandled, while in Europe the figure rises to 12.3, highlighting a significantly higher risk for those traveling within the region.
The AirAdvisor Baggage Reliability Index was built based on passenger complaints, public perception, search interest and official complaints, and the results show that airline choice directly influences how baggage incidents are handled.
Ranking of airlines preferred by Romanians
Among the airlines frequently used by Romanians on European routes, Wizz Air ranks third, while Lufthansa ranks fourth.
Turkish Airlines saw a significant drop from the previous year, dropping to sixth position.
To ensure comparability of scores, operators were analyzed by size category, so performance can only be compared within each category and not between them.
In the category of major airlines, British Airways stands out for its ability to handle baggage situations efficiently, even though the volume of complaints remains high. Search interest related to baggage issues has dropped by 50% compared to the previous year, signaling an increase in passenger confidence.
In turn, large European companies such as Icelandair have minimal search interest and no complaints in the analyzed data set, indicating that problems are rare and managed effectively.
In the category of regional companies, Edelweiss Air stands out for its lack of complaints and consistently positive feedback from passengers, thus providing a stable experience.
Airlines with the most frequent problems
On the other hand, Air France is the worst performer in the major carrier category, with more than twice as many baggage complaints as British Airways, and almost 9% of reviews on Trustpilot mention baggage issues.
In the large carrier category, Vueling is experiencing high volumes of internal complaints and increased interest from passengers, while Virgin Atlantic is experiencing the highest levels of visibility of baggage issues in its category.
AirAdvisor’s analysis shows that there are several operational patterns that influence baggage reliability. Stopovers and connections increase the risk of lost or delayed luggage, as each transfer adds an extra handling step.
What to do if you have lost your luggage
In case of baggage delay, passengers should immediately file a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) at the airport, keep all receipts and documents for possible refunds and know their rights under the Montreal Convention, which provides for compensation in certain circumstances.
The AirAdvisor Index analyzed 35 airlines in the UK and the European Union, using both its own data and public sources. The companies were grouped according to size and operational complexity: dominant global companies, with a maximum score of 7; large European companies, with a maximum score of 20; and regional companies, with a maximum score of 8.
The rating was based on five weighted factors: AirAdvisor complaints, market demand, passenger satisfaction, complaints to authorities and ratings or participation in ADR mechanisms.
