Baggage Operations

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Baggage operations are a critical part of airline operations and the passenger experience. Every day, millions of bags move through a complex network of airlines, airports, and ground handlers.

IATA’s Baggage Strategy defines the industry roadmap for the next decade, guiding the improvement and modernization of baggage operations by serving as a common reference to support alignment, coordination, and long-term planning across the global air transport industry.

Upcoming Baggage Working Group Meetings

31 March - 2 April 2026, Singapore
19 - 22 October 2026, Montreal, Canada

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Our Strategic Roadmap

Built with airlines, airports, ground handlers, and industry partners, the global baggage strategy provides a 10-year framework that enables the industry to evolve baggage operations in a coordinated and sustainable way. It supports progressive adoption of technology across the different baggage touch points while preserving global standard and best practices.

At its core, the strategy aims to ensure that baggage operations are underpinned by trusted data and information exchange, automation of handling processes, reduce mishandling, claim and combat fraud in the baggage supply chain enabling:

Improved end-to-end baggage visibility
More timely and reliable passenger information
Interoperability through common standards

Baggage Strategy Pillars

Baggage Information Exchange and Data Standardization: Modernizing baggage messaging through Data exchange standards to replace outdated systems and eliminate $1B annually in legacy messaging costs.
Baggage Tracking & Automation: Achieving a fully automated baggage handling system and all IATA member airlines provide real-time baggage updates to their passengers.
Passenger Experience, Claims & Fraud Prevention: Streamline claims, reduce fraud, and enhance passenger experience.

Resources for Air Transport Industry Stakeholders

Baggage Tracking

IATA Resolution 753 on baggage tracking enables airlines to address the challenge of baggage mishandling by implementing cross-industry tracking for every baggage journey.
> More on Baggage Tracking

Modern Baggage Messaging

The Baggage XML project is working towards a sustainable standard for messaging in the area of baggage.

> More on Modern Baggage Messaging

Consultancy

IATA provides different types of consultancy, from big airport development projects with the IATA team to ad-hoc consultancy delivered by the baggage subject matter experts.

If you are interested in knowing more about our consultancy possibilities, please contact us.

Publications

Other Baggage Resources

Baggage ID Chart: a set of codes to represent baggage by color and type. Purchase the Baggage ID Chart
Lost and Found Property Items Chart: this chart identifies belongings that passengers frequently lose as carry on items to speed up the repatriation of the item back to the client. Purchase Lost and Found property chart.

Baggage Training Courses

Baggage Handling Services and Systems: Learn to recognize baggage handling problems at the source and enhance your service efficiency by incorporating improved processes, infrastructure, and service management in your organization. Analyze the various airline service models and how to apply them to check-in, ramp and baggage claim procedures.
> Baggage Handling Services Training
Baggage Claims and Proration: Learn baggage pro-rate from the moment of payment of passenger claim until the agreement is made and the settlement of pro-rate amounts between respective carriers takes place.
> Baggage Claim Proration Training
Baggage Tracking: Based on the requirements of IATA Resolution 753, explore the different options to track baggage, and how tracking data could be exchanged with other parties; who would record tracking data; when it would be exchanged; and the technologies that could be used for this exchange.
> Baggage Tracking Training