Best & Worst European Airlines for Baggage Reliability
Learn how AirAdvisor’s 2026 Baggage Reliability Score combines claims, complaints, and satisfaction data to reveal which European airlines handle bags best.
Sometimes, trusting your baggage to an airline feels like a real gamble. Will it arrive with you, be damaged, or have items missing? These concerns can mean the difference between travelling with what you actually need and making do with carry-on only.
But what if there was a way to know an airline’s overall baggage reliability in advance of your flight? Well, that wasn’t possible until now. Using data from claims, search visibility, passenger sentiment, regulatory complaints, and external body awards, we’ve compiled the official ranking of Europe’s most reliable airlines for your bags.
Key takeaways
- The best major European airline for baggage is British Airways; the worst is Air France.
- Icelandair is the top-performing large European airline for luggage; Vueling is the worst.
- Edelweiss Air is the most baggage-friendly small European airline; Virgin Atlantic is the worst.
- SWISS dropped the most significantly in the rankings compared to 2025, 10 places.
- Aer Lingus showed the greatest year-on-year improvement, gaining 8 spots.
How the baggage reliability score works
We weighted the data and asked the following questions:
- AirAdvisor claims (45%) – What’s the claim volume and claim success rate from our internal data for each airline?
- Market demand (30%) – How often are passengers searching for baggage mishandling topics for each airline?
- Traveller satisfaction (10%) – How often do Trustpilot reviews mention baggage?
- Regulatory complaints (10%) – How many complaints did the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) receive for the airline in 2025 related to checked bags?
- Ratings and memberships (5%) – Did the airline rank on the official Skytrax Top 100 Airlines for 2025? Does it use an alternate dispute resolution (ADR) service?
The 35 airlines we reviewed were separated by size into 3 categories to compare like with like:
- Dominant Global Airlines – Large-scale European carriers with the highest exposure and traffic (7 airlines = max. 7 points overall).
- Large European Airlines – Legacy, leisure, and hybrid European airlines with extensive intra-EU networks (20 airlines = max. 20 points overall).
- Regional European Airlines – Leisure, premium niche, and charter-based operators with smaller networks and fewer annual passengers (8 airlines = max. 8 points overall).
The best & worst major European airlines for baggage reliability
This category is for the biggest airlines based in the UK and the EU. These carriers have a fleet of 150 or more aircraft, serve 30 million+ passengers annually, or both.
Note that you’ll find the ultra-popular Ryanair absent from this list due to a lack of available information. We also included Turkish Airlines in our study due to high demand from European and other international passengers.
The best global European airline for baggage
British Airways - overall winner
Of the 7 airlines included in this ranking, British Airways is the best high-volume European airline for baggage reliability.
- British Airways has the highest success rate from our internal baggage claim data.
- BA’s baggage-related overall search volume decreased 50% from the 2025 score.
- Placing 13th on the Skytrax Top 100 for 2025, only Turkish Airlines and Air France score better.
Why is British Airways the best? Although they experience a higher-than-average volume of claims with the CAA, the claim success rate is also high. BA has shown a significant improvement compared to the 2025 ranking and is the clear winner based on points.
The worst major European airline for baggage
It’s all well and good to talk about the top performers, but knowing the worst airlines for your luggage can really help to guide your airline and checked baggage decisions.
Worst overall – Air France
Unfortunately, Air France was also the worst major European airline in our 2025 baggage reliability score.
- The number of AirAdvisor baggage claims received is more than double that of British Airways.
- On the Skytrax 100 in 2025, Air France placed #8 overall.
- On Trustpilot, customers reference baggage issues in 8.89% of Air France reviews, the highest of all the dominant European airlines.
- Air France passengers may want to think twice before checking bags. Opt for carry-on if possible, and especially for connecting flights, where the possibility of baggage problems increases.
Why is Air France the worst? Even with improvements, Air France still has a high volume of claims, high market demand based on search volume, and baggage mishandling mentions are high, as are the CAA claims filed.
Ranking Europe’s major carriers for baggage reliability
With 7 airlines in this category, the maximum score is 7 points.
| Final rank | Ranking change (compared to 2025) | Total score (higher = better) | Airline | Internal Claims - Weighted Points (45%) | Market Demand - Weighted Points (30%) | CAA complaints - Weighted Points (10%) | Public complaint sentiment - Weighted Points (10%) | Ratings & Memberships - Weighted Points (5%) |
 1 | +1 | 6.1 | British Airways | 3.15 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.25 |
| 2 | +1 | 4.7 | easyJet | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| 3 | +2 | 4.3 | Wizz Air | 1.35 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.05 |
| 4 | n/a | 3.7 | Lufthansa | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| 5 | n/a | 3.65 | KLM | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.15 |
| 6 | -6 | 3 | Turkish Airlines | 0.45 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.35 |
| 7 | n/a | 2.2 | Air France | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
The best & worst large European airlines for your bags
For our purposes, large European airlines are generally those with a fleet size between 45 and 149, or that carry 10 to 29 million passengers per year. In all, we included 20 airlines.
Top large European airline for checked baggage
Icelandair - overall winner
Icelandair is a great choice for your bags when flying with a large European airline.
- Based on our internal baggage claim data, Icelandair has a high claim success rate and a low claim volume.
- Very low bag-related search volume; only Aegean Airlines and Air Europa have fewer impressions.
- Zero CAA luggage-specific complaints filed in 2025.
Why is Icelandair the best? When baggage mishandling occurs, this airline takes responsibility. Instances of claims from all the reviewed sources are very low.
The worst large European airline for checked baggage
- A high volume of AirAdvisor internal luggage claims.
- A below-average claim win-rate.
- Very high market demand for baggage-related queries.
Why is Vueling the worst? Vueling has a low win rate and a high claim volume, as reflected in both our internal data and the CAA. So, baggage mishandling is common, and the carrier doesn’t honour claims very often.
Additional low-scoring large European airlines
The Second-Worst – SAS
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is technically the second-worst large European airline for checked bags.
It is worth mentioning because:
- SAS has a similar win rate to Vueling but only about 30% of the claim volume.
- Online searches for luggage-related concerns increased year-over-year.
- Trustpilot baggage mentions in reviews are higher than average.
#18 Iberia and #17 ITA Airways
Both airlines have the same score, so they fill the last spots on the list of the worst European airlines for luggage reliability.
Here’s why:
- Iberia has the highest mention rate of baggage in Trustpilot reviews – 54.45%.
- Based on our internal luggage claim data, Iberia has the highest number of incoming luggage claims, indicating high demand.
- Both ITA and Iberia have high luggage-related search volumes.
- The CAA received a higher-than-average number of complaints for ITA Airways.
Ranking the most reliable large European airlines for luggage
With 20 airlines in the “large” group, the maximum points for this category are 20.
| Final Rank | Total score (higher = better) | Ranking change (compared to 2025) | Airline | Internal Claims - Weighted Points (45%) | Market Demand - Weighted Points (30%) | CAA complaints - Weighted Points (10%) | Public complaint sentiment - Weighted Points (10%) | Ratings & Memberships - Weighted Points (5%) |
| 1 | 15.75 | +1 | Icelandair | 8.1 | 5.4 | 2 | 0.2 | 0.05 |
| 2 | 15.7 | +4 | Finnair | 7.65 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 1 | 0.85 |
| 3 | 14.95 | -2 | Aegean Airlines | 5.85 | 6 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| 4 | 14.6 | n/a | Norwegian Air | 8.55 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 0.05 |
| 5 | 14 | +3 | SunExpress | 9 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.3 |
| 6 | 13.9 | -3 | Austrian Airlines | 6.3 | 3.6 | 2 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| 7 | 13.35 | n/a | Air Europa | 5.4 | 5.7 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.05 |
| 8 | 12.4 | +8 | Aer Lingus | 5.4 | 4.5 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 0.6 |
| 9 | 12.25 | n/a | Transavia | 2.7 | 5.1 | 2 | 1.8 | 0.65 |
| 10 | 11.7 | +5 | TAP Air Portugal | 6.75 | 2.1 | 1 | 1.4 | 0.45 |
| 11 | 11.55 | n/a | LOT Polish Airlines | 7.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.55 |
| 12 | 10.9 | +5 | Jet2 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| 13 | 10.8 | n/a | Eurowings | 5.4 | 3.3 | 1 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 14 | 6.8 | -2 | TUI Airways | 1.35 | 3 | 0.1 | 2 | 0.35 |
| 15 | 6.65 | -10 | SWISS | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2 | 1.3 | 0.95 |
| 16 | 6.2 | -9 | Condor | 0.45 | 4.2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.05 |
| 17 | 6.15 | -3 | ITA Airways | 3.15 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| 18 | 6.15 | +2 | Iberia | 3.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.95 |
| 19 | 5.5 | -9 | SAS | 2.25 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.25 |
| 20 | 4.65 | -1 | Vueling | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.75 |
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Best & worst regional European airlines for your luggage
The regional category includes 8 airlines in total that transport fewer than 10 million passengers annually or have a fleet smaller than 45 aircraft.
Best regional European airline for checked bags
Edelweiss Air - overall winner
Edelweiss Air jumped 5 places from the 2025 baggage reliability index – definitely a significant improvement.
- Edelweiss Air has the highest AirAdvisor claim success rate in this category and a very low claim volume.
- A low mention rate for baggage issues in Trustpilot reviews.
- Zero CAA baggage complaints in 2025.
Why is Edelweiss Air the best? When evaluating an airline, you want low occurrences of claims and high claim approval rates. Edelweiss Air has both.
Worst regional European airline for checked bags
Worst overall – Virgin Atlantic
Of our regional carriers, Virgin Atlantic is likely the most well-known. The airline transports around double the number of passengers of other carriers in this regional category, like Edelweiss, so there are bound to be more luggage issues.
Highlights include:
- The highest market demand for luggage queries in this category.
- The highest volume of CAA complaints in 2025.
- #16 on the 2025 Skytrax Top 100.
Why is Virgin Atlantic the worst? Virgin is more of a mixed bag than the other low-scoring airlines in other categories. Search volume and CAA complaints are high, which shows that delayed, lost, and damaged baggage is more common. But at least the Trustpilot baggage mentions are low, and the Skytrax ranking is high.
Ranking the most reliable regional European airlines for checked bags
For this group, 8 airlines means the max points are also 8.
| Final Rank | Ranking change (compared to 2025) | Total score (higher = better) | Airline | Internal Claims - Weighted Points (45%) | Market Demand - Weighted Points (30%) | CAA complaints - Weighted Points (10%) | Public complaint sentiment - Weighted Points (10%) | Ratings & Memberships - Weighted Points (5%) |
| 1 | +4 | 6.45 | Edelweiss Air | 3.60 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.80 | 0.05 |
| 2 | +7 | 5.20 | Croatia Airlines | 3.15 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.30 | 0.05 |
| 3 | n/a | 4.55 | Brussels Airlines | 2.70 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.40 | 0.05 |
| 4 | -1 | 4.35 | Volotea | 0.90 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.80 | 0.35 |
| 5 | -1 | 4.15 | French Bee | 0.90 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.80 | 0.05 |
| 6 | n/a | 3.95 | Norse Atlantic Airways | 1.80 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 0.10 | 0.05 |
| 7 | -5 | 3.90 | Tarom | 0.45 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.20 | 0.05 |
| 8 | n/a | 3.10 | Virgin Atlantic | 1.80 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.50 | 0.4 |
Honourable mentions from our findings
Here are some of the notable findings that have emerged from our data:
- Edelweiss Air and Norwegian have the highest claim success rate, regardless of the category.
- Turkish Airlines is the highest-ranking airline on the Skytrax 100 at #6.
- KLM has the highest total incoming AirAdvisor luggage claims.
Methodology
We reviewed 5 different categories for 35 UK and EU-based airlines to create the AirAdvisor baggage reliability index. Not all airlines operate on the same scale, so we established 3 categories (global, larger European, and regional) based on passenger volume and fleet size. This keeps the rankings fair. Just because an airline scored well in its size group doesn’t mean its ranking is better or worse than one in another group.
In cases where data was unavailable or missing for an airline, the value was replaced with an average score to remain neutral. Where applicable, the numbers were inverted so that if the favourable result was a low score (like claims and search volume), the final category rank reflects the positive result with a higher score.
The categories and weights used are:
- Market demand (30%) – This reflects data on how often and how intensely people are searching online for baggage-related issues for each airline.
- AirAdvisor claims (45%) – We factored in the total claims we've received since June 10, 2025 (over 7,440), and the proportion of cases won for each airline. This shows how often luggage claims come up for the airline and how amenable they are to a solution.
- Ratings and memberships (5%) – We reviewed the current place of each airline on the Skytrax Top 100 Airlines for 2025. Lower numbers on the list mean the airline is well regarded. We also checked whether or not the airline is a member of an alternate dispute resolution (ADR) service.
- Traveller satisfaction (10%) – This is the rate at which customer reviews on Trustpilot reference baggage issues. The higher the number, the more common it is that passengers have trouble with their luggage.
- Regulatory complaints (10%) – The approximate number of official complaints to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the UK for baggage in 2025, using a set proportion of “other complaints.” Totals were adjusted based on airline type, where, for example, it was assumed that passengers check luggage less frequently on low-cost airlines, so carriers like easyJet would have fewer baggage complaints.
Which airlines should you trust with your checked bags?
From our extensive data, we now know that your checked luggage is safest with British Airways, Icelandair, and Edelweiss Air. On the flip side, baggage issues are more likely to arise in 2026 with Air France, Vueling, and Virgin Atlantic.
Choose wisely, and you won’t have to worry as much the next time you’re standing at the baggage carousel! And if you’ve flown any of these airlines with checked baggage and things didn’t go smoothly, we can always help you file a successful claim.
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FAQs
Is checked baggage more likely to be delayed on connecting flights?
Yes. Bags are significantly more likely to be delayed when passengers transfer between flights. Direct flights reduce the number of times luggage needs to be transferred, which lowers the risk of mishandling.
Do low-cost airlines lose more baggage than full-service airlines?
Not necessarily. While operational differences exist, baggage reliability depends more on airport infrastructure, connection times, and baggage handling systems than airline type alone. In general, low-cost airlines receive fewer checked bags due to shorter flight distances, which can translate into fewer baggage issues.
What percentage of airline baggage is usually lost or delayed in Europe?
According to SITA, globally, only 6.3 bags per 1,000 passengers were mishandled in 2024. In Europe, the rate almost doubles to 12.3 bags per 1,000 passengers. That’s why the AirAdvisor baggage reliability index can help you choose your airlines wisely when you need to check a bag.
Author:
Amy Lancelotte
Job/Position: Senior Writer & Content Strategist
Amy Lancelotte is a Senior Content Writer and editorial contributor at AirAdvisor with over seven years of experience producing research-based articles for international audiences. Her work focuses on travel, aviation, and air passenger rights, with an emphasis on factual accuracy, verified data, and clear, reader-first explanations.
