In case your suitcase gets lost

Imagine, you packed your suitcase for a nice sunny holiday. You put some beautiful clothes in it, and of course your swimwear, water shoes and all the other things you need. And then you keep on waiting and waiting at the baggage carousel and realize you have a lost case. How to make this situation a bit less painful?

Of course people have told me these tips before, but I never followed them, until my suitcase got lost during my last holiday to Rhodes. Because what are the chances? Before the corona pandemic, about 8 out of every 1000 suitcases went missing, and since then that number has only increased. An average flight has 150 passengers. So on average, 1 passenger on every flight is standing empty-handed at the baggage carousel. Imagine being that one passenger! So please consider following the tips below, just in case.

- Put a few sets of clothes in your hand luggage, so that you have clean clothes for the first days. Also put some other things you might need in your hand luggage, such as flip flops and swimwear.

- It is not allowed to put too many liquids in your hand luggage. You can take 1 litre of liquids and gels in containers of maximum 100 millilitres each. The packaged liquids and gels must be in a transparent and resealable plastic bag of maximum 1 litre. If this is too much hassle, you can of course also buy things like sunscreen and shampoo at your destination or in the tax-free section of the airport. If you lose a suitcase, you can often claim this from your travel insurance, more about this later.

- In case you take medicines, think carefully what you want to do with them. It can of course be very annoying if you cannot take them for a few days. If you decide to put medicines in your hand luggage, you must be able to hand over a doctor's prescription in English upon request. Ask your doctor or pharmacy for a prescription. Do you prefer to put your medicines in your suitcase? Then take extra medicines with you and, if possible, put them in the suitcase of one of your traveling companions. Of course, discuss this in advance, before your companion thinks that drugs are being smuggled in their suitcase :)

- Don't put expensive items or electronic devices in your suitcase. Apart from the fact that they can get damaged or lost, battery-operated devices are not allowed in your suitcase, due to the potential risk of fire. In recent years, many airlines have implemented stricter guidelines for this.

- Make sure you have good travel insurance. Most insurers include luggage as standard cover, but some insurers require you to insure luggage as additional cover. So pay close attention to this. If your suitcase is delayed, you will often receive an amount from your travel insurance to buy the first necessary items at your destination. Always call your insurance company and ask how much this compensation is. I myself was able to buy the necessary items for €100 and could also shop for some nice new clothes for that amount :) If a cold case arises where your suitcase is never found, you will of course receive more money from your insurance.

- Keep your cell phone on. You will often be called when your suitcase has been found. After a lengthy case study to find out where my suitcase was, I received a call after a few days that it had been found. My suitcase, which had been renamed the Dutch name Kees during the holiday, apparently didn't feel like going on holiday and stayed in Amsterdam. We picked up the headcase from the airport that evening and afterwards we had, of course, a nice Greek beer to celebrate his return. So it all turned out well, case closed.