Steer Clear Of This US Airport If You Don't Want Your Luggage Lost
You might have managed to avoid Times Square tourist traps, but you should look out for one more risk on your NYC vacation: JFK. New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport has distinguished itself as one of the top-rated airports in America for business travel, but when it comes to keeping track of your luggage, it might rank as the worst in the country. This bustling airport sees thousands of flights coming and going daily to and from cities all around the globe, so it makes sense that some bags passing through JFK would get lost or damaged. Still, this enormous airport somehow loses a lot more bags than its biggest competitors.
In January 2018, JFK made headlines after a major snowstorm delayed multiple flights arriving at the airport, which caused thousands of bags not to get picked up on time. In the chaos, many travelers had to wait days to reunite with their luggage. However, most bags that get lost or damaged at JFK don't go missing because of unexpected weather emergencies, just day-to-day operations at the airport.
According to research conducted by Forbes Advisor (via Travel Agent Central), there are around 1.93 claims of property loss and 1.48 claims of property damage for every 100,000 passengers who travel through JFK — more than any other major U.S. airport. While that might seem like a slim possibility, with millions of travelers using JFK every year, more bags get lost than you might think.
Why luggage might go missing at JFK
You might have used a clever hack to keep your luggage secure without a lock, but that won't prevent it from getting misplaced. Other than completely forgetting to pick your luggage up at your destination (it happens!), a lot of things can go wrong between the moment you hand your bag over at the check-in counter and when you spot it coming towards you on the carousel. At JFK's Terminal 4, the airport's largest terminal, passengers check around 35 bags every minute. This creates a lot of chances for things to go wrong.
Many travelers fear that their luggage will get put on the wrong plane by an employee who skipped their morning coffee, but in reality, this might be the best-case scenario. As long as the staff tagged your bag correctly, the airline will (most likely) figure out its mistake and get it back to you. If it got tagged incorrectly by accident, or the tag gets ripped off your bag in transit, the situation can prove a little more challenging. With bags coming in and out of JFK constantly, it's easy to see how those with incorrect labels might wait a long time to return to their owners.
What to do if JFK loses your luggage
Even knowing that a lot of baggage disappears at JFK, the overhead bins on planes don't have a lot of space, so you may still have to risk checking a bag. As soon as you notice your luggage has gone missing, tell the airline. Staff may already know that your luggage has ended up delayed or can look in their system to locate your bag. If this happens, you can wait for your luggage to arrive or ask the airline to ship it.
If you can't track down your bags, you may have to report them lost. If your bags went missing at the enormous Terminal 4 at JFK, you can do that through its Lost & Found form by describing the missing bags and stating whether you have a tracker inside. Don't forget to follow up! One Reddit user on r/flights posted about their experience of having their luggage go missing at JFK and how they ultimately got it back through persistence.
Not everyone recovers their lost luggage, however. If you, the airport, or airline staff can't find your bags, this should entitle you to some compensation — but according to Travel Agent Central, only around 19% of lost property claims from JFK get a full reimbursement. If your airline refuses to compensate you, you may need to file a consumer complaint through the U.S. Department of Transportation to get reimbursed.