A.R. Rahman: Bags lost in transit

The next time A.R. Rahman takes a British Airways flight, chances are his suitcases will reach London with him. The star composer became the latest victim of lost luggage on Tuesday, with the airlines misplacing two of his suitcases on the eve of the formal opening of Lord of the Rings.

With complaints pouring in, several airlines are busy putting in place measures to plug the holes and ensure smooth baggage flow. From special training of ground staff and random checks at conveyer belts to pitching for an exclusive terminal, big plans are being drawn up to curb the rising number of lost-baggage cases as international and domestic airlines struggle to cope with the pressure of far more flights and many more passengers.

“Every day, there are on an average 10 complaints from passengers not receiving their baggage, mostly at the international terminal,” said a senior official of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. “The problem is most acute on stopover flights,” he added.

Some airlines blame the ground-handling agencies —most airlines having outsourced the function — while others point a finger at the chaos in clogged terminals.

“The main problem of missing baggage emanates from Heathrow airport, where the terminals handle passengers much beyond capacity,” said a British Airways official. “But the problem will soon be solved.”

Shilpa Shetty — whose 10 suitcases were lost in British Airways transit on way to Yorkshire recently — can take heart from the fact that the airline has sought exclusive rights of operation from terminal 5 of Heathrow airport to avoid such baggage booboos.“The terminal is scheduled to be handed over for trial operations by the end of this year. Once operational, the pressure will be eased,” pointed out the British Airways official.

Singapore Airlines has recently started a special training programme for loaders. “They are being taught to put the right tag on the right baggage and to load it in proper containers,” said an official.

“Passengers arriving at the airport are being asked to run a repeat check to ensure their luggage is in order. The destination and onward journey of passengers checking in are also being meticulously noted down,” she added.

Jet Airways has deployed men at the airport for random checks for arrivals. “We keep a close eye on identical-looking baggage, so that they are not swapped,” explained an airline official.

Improper tagging has been identified as the prime culprit by SpiceJet. “There are very few cases when the baggage is actually lost. Baggage is mishandled due wrong tags. Most passengers whose baggage is misplaced eventually get it back,” claimed an official.

The system of baggage tagging is meant to be foolproof. Jet Airways has a reconciliation system whereby every boarding pass has a sequence number. The system generates a baggage tag with a bar code that is attached to the luggage.

The baggage scanner scans the tag and gets the destination, weight and number of bags. The baggage is then loaded in different trolleys for separate destinations.

The baggage in the make-up area — where the luggage arrives — are tallied with the checking system. “If the numbers do not match, we scan for the extra baggage,” explained a Jet official. “Despite all this, the cases of missing baggage are on the rise,” he added.