An airport in Japan is celebrating a big milestone: it’s never lost a piece of luggage in 30 years.
Japan’s Kansai International Airport (KIX) won the Skytrax award for World’s Best Airport for Baggage Delivery 2024.
“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.
Kansai airport, located in Osaka, first opened in 1994 and serves an estimated 20 million to 30 million passengers annually.
The award, which the airport has received eight times, is based on an evaluation of wait time before baggage pickup, efficiency of baggage delivery and response to lost baggage, according to the release.
The airport handled about 10 million baggage items in the 2023 fiscal year, reported the news organization Nikkei Asia.
“Multilayered checking work” is what makes their track record so successful, thanks to two or three staffers assessing the types and number of bags for each plane, as well as its passenger transit information.
“It’s important for multiple staff members to share information to prevent mistakes arising from erroneous assumptions,” Tsuyoshi Habuta, who supervises baggage operations at airport operator CKTS, told Nikkei Asia.
The outlet reported that the airport has a manual outlining the rules specific to each airline that is updated regularly to incorporate staff suggestions based on experience.
CKTS aims to get bags to baggage claim within 15 minutes after the aircraft’s arrival.
However, airport staff don’t believe they’re doing anything remarkable.
“We don’t feel like we have been doing something special,” Kenji Takanishi, a public relations officer for Kansai, told CNN. “We have been working as we normally do.
“We only do our work on a daily basis and we are recognized for it. We are certainly happy to receive the award. I think our staff, especially those working on the ground, feel more pleased.”
Kansai airport expects to see 37.3 million passengers during the 2025 fiscal year, thanks to the six-month-long global-innovations forum World Expo 2025, according to Nikkei Asia.
