IATA Resolution 753 (published in 2013, effective June 2018) establishes the industry rule that airlines must monitor and share the location of every checked bag. The resolution’s core statement is: “IATA members shall maintain an accurate inventory of baggage by monitoring the acquisition and delivery of baggage.” (iata.org). In other words, each airline must know where every bag is at key moments, so it can report on custody changes. The resolution explicitly lists the goals of tracking: to “prevent and reduce mishandling,” “increase passenger satisfaction,” “reduce baggage fraud,” speed up operations, and even help with interline proration (iata.org).
Under Resolution 753, member airlines have specific obligations. They must be able to demonstrate the point at which each bag is picked up from the passenger and delivered to aircraft, including any transfers between carriers (iata.org). Airlines must “provide an inventory of bags upon departure of a flight” and be capable of exchanging that information with other carriers or their agents (iata.org). In practice, this means that before a plane departs, the airline can prove exactly which checked bags made it onto that flight. If a passenger changes planes, the airline must log when the bag leaves the first aircraft and when it arrives on the next one. All this data can then be shared electronically with partner airlines on a codeshare or interline itinerary. In short, carriers must be able to account for each baggage transfer and arrival.
The resolution also specifies four minimum tracking points (see table below):
- Acquisition: When the bag is taken from the passenger (at check-in or bag-drop) (iata.org).
- Loading on Aircraft: When the bag is delivered onto the departing aircraft’s hold (iata.org).
- Transfer Custody: If the bag moves between flights or carriers, record when the first flight unloads it and the next flight loads it (iata.org).
- Delivery to Passenger: When the bag is handed to the passenger at the destination carousel (or to baggage reclaim if using home delivery) (iata.org).
These points ensure there is no gap in the baggage chain where a bag’s location is unknown. Airlines must record each event using scanning or manual logs. The purpose is that at any time, the airline has an accurate count of where its bags are – essentially a live inventory (iata.org).
By making such tracking mandatory, IATA and associated airlines aim to cut down on mishandling. For example, if a bag misses its flight, the system immediately flags it as “Not Loaded” at the aircraft and “In Transfer” until it is put on a later flight. This visibility lets ground handlers find and correct errors faster. Overall, Resolution 753 requires that by recording these points and sharing the data, the global baggage mishandling rate will drop. It also enables carriers to prove they met their service agreements (as the resolution notes, tracking “helps measuring compliance to SLAs” (iata.org) and allows proration (money-sharing) to be automated based on each bag’s journey (iata.org).
