Emirates has recently experienced its busiest winter for baggage handling in the last 3 years. The winter period statistics from September 2023 to January 2024 show that while handling an average of 2.7 million bags each month from Dubai to 140 global destinations, Emirates maintains a 99.9% success rate.
Emirates has an excellent statistical record for baggage handling, where 99.9% of all baggage coming from Dubai or transferring through reaches its owner on time, at the correct destination. On an average Emirates journey, a customer’s luggage goes on a trip of its own and interacts with many of Emirates team; from a porter’s trolley to a check-in agent and baggage belt, to the ‘Boss Room’ where baggage is scanned with high tech security, then loaded into dnata baggage containers and onto the moveable dollies bound for Emirates aircraft, before it travels across the world, to meet the baggage handlers at a new destination.
On the rare occasion that baggage is delayed, an array of varying scenarios might have occurred. Sometimes baggage tags containing essential information are accidentally torn off, or occasionally a bag could fall off the underground baggage belt as its rounds a corner at a fast pace – which is captured on camera and can be rectified immediately. A transfer flight may be unavoidably delayed due to weather or a sick passenger, making it impossible to remove and reload the bag onto the passenger’s transfer flight in time. In this case, the customers bag is immediately loaded onto the next flight. This is done automatically by a combination of multiple complex systems; Baggage Handling System by Dubai Airport, Baggage Reconciliation System by dnata, and Emirates Bag Connect – an Emirates product that offers a comprehensive view of the baggage journey with timely baggage status tracking, available on the Emirates app and website.
Overall, Emirates rate of baggage mishandling – defined as delayed, lost or misplaced baggage, is very minimal at 1.3 in a 1000 at the Dubai hub- almost 30 times lower than some other providers. Of the bags that are unavoidably delayed even globally – 91% are reunited with their owners within 72 hours. This rate is also significant globally because Emirates primarily manages international baggage and international transfer baggage, so luggage often goes on long and complex journeys that require a higher level of attention than domestic travel.
Emirates attributes its best-in-class baggage handling to robust and high-tech procedures including a multimillion-dollar investment into software that Emirates has tailored to specific needs, providing full visibility of entire journeys.
