Japanese airport sets record by going 30 years without losing even one piece of luggage
- Kansai International Airport has been running since 1994
- During that time, it hasn’t lost a single piece of luggage
- It has won awards for its baggage handling
Published on May 08, 2025 at 8:19 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on May 08, 2025 at 1:12 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Japan’s Kansai International Airport has a 30-year-long record managing to not lose a single piece of luggage in 30 years.
Kansai International Airport serves the Osaka and Kyoto region.
It’s the third busiest airport in Japan, with around 31.9 million passengers traveling through in 2019.
The airport opened in 1994, and 30 years on, it says it has still not lost any bags or suitcases.
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The Japanese airport claims to have never lost a piece of luggage
Unfortunately, lost luggage is a part of travel, with around 26 million pieces of luggage lost, delayed, or damaged in 2022.
However, Japan’s Kansai International Airport claims that across its 30 years of operation, it hasn’t lost a single piece of luggage.
The airport handles more than 3,000 bags, cases, and other items each day, and every one of them ends up with its owner.
As well as making sure that no bag gets left behind, staff at Kansai International Airport say they aim to get all luggage onto the baggage claim within 15 minutes of arrival, a little less than the 20-minute guarantee that Delta Airlines uses.
Unsurprisingly, the airport was named the World’s Best Airport for Baggage Delivery by Skytrax last year.
And not for the first time, in fact, Kansai International Airport has been named the best for baggage delivery a whopping eight times.
What’s different at Kansai International Airport?
Interestingly, the airport claims there’s no big secret to its impressive baggage track record.
“We believe that the record of having no baggage lost since the opening of the airport is the result of the daily efforts and careful work of everyone involved, including airlines and handling companies,” the airport said in a press release last November.
The staff don’t receive any special training, with one handler telling the South China Morning Post that the impressive record is just down to staff following ‘work processes and rules’.
“We carefully handle suitcases to avoid shocks. Suitcase handles are aligned in a direction that is easy for customers to pick up,” supervisor Tsuyoshi Habuta told the publication.
“We hand fragile items, strollers, surfboards, and skis directly to passengers.”
However, those processes are set to be seriously put to the test this year, with almost 40 million passengers expected to travel through the airport for the World Expo in 2025, which is being held in Osaka.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
