These Are the Worst U.S. Airports for Mishandled Luggage in 2025

Losing your luggage at the airport can turn any smooth travel experience into a complete nightmare. Whether you’re on vacation or a business trip, missing bags create stress, delays, and a flurry of complaints. But thankfully, not all airports are equal when it comes to baggage handling.

To shed light on this issue, a study by Upgraded Points analyzed thousands of complaints filed with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), using data from the FOIA Electronic Reading Room.

The research looked at the 60 busiest airports in the U.S. between 2015 and 2023, adjusting numbers to account for passenger volume—giving a fair comparison between major hubs and smaller regional airports.

Worst Airports for Mishandled Luggage

Among the airports with the highest number of baggage complaints per 100,000 passengers:

• Orlando International Airport (MCO) tops the list with 1.81 complaints
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) follows closely with 1.72 complaints
• Palm Beach International Airport (PBI): 1.71 complaints
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC): 1.69 complaints
• Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL): 1.68 complaints

These statistics show that passengers flying through these hubs should double-check their baggage tags and perhaps avoid tight layovers when possible.

Best Airports for Baggage Handling

On the bright side, several major airports stood out for having the fewest complaints, showing a strong track record of keeping bags where they belong:

• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) led the way with just 0.31 complaints per 100K passengers—a remarkable 72% below the national average.
• Kansas City International Airport (MCI) reported only 0.42 complaints, showcasing highly efficient baggage systems.
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), despite being one of the busiest airports globally, had just 0.58 complaints—an impressive feat.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) both tied with 0.59 complaints, rounding out the list of top performers.