You are more likely to have your luggage damaged when flying with Ryanair than any other airline, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Out of 823 claims for damaged luggage submitted to airlines between 2015 and 2020, over one in ten were made to Ryanair.

Protective casings manufacturer, Trifibre, has investigated claims for luggage damaged on flights that took place over a six-year period using a Freedom of Information request to access data from the UK’s aviation regulator, which investigates claims that individual airlines are unable to resolve.

The data, which covers airlines serving the UK, highlighted 108 claims of damaged baggage submitted to Ryanair – 13% of claims overall and more than double any other airline.

Emirates came in second place, after receiving 47 claims for damaged luggage during the same period – 6% of claims overall; while Alitalia was third with 40 claims for damaged baggage – 5% of total claims.

It also revealed that in the event of your luggage being damaged, your chances of a successful claim are less than half.

Only 46% of claims (380) out of the 823 submitted were upheld in favour of the passenger, 12% (101) were upheld in favour of the airline and 0.5% (4) are still in progress.

In nearly half of all cases 41% (338), either no reply was received from the airline or airport, the claim was not taken up, or the case was marked alternative dispute resolution.

Those with damaged luggage also face a waiting game; on average, a claim for damaged baggage that is upheld takes 154 days to reach a conclusion.

The airline that took the longest time to reach a settlement was Ryanair, with a whopping 868 days.  The claim, which was likely to have been delayed by Covid lockdowns and disruption, took nearly two and a half years to be resolved after it was submitted in June 2019 and eventually upheld in favour of the passenger when it was settled in October 2021.

www.trifibre.co.uk