PBS News Hour

of passengers and, if the past is any guide,# will handle millions of bags this holiday season.

But a small fraction of them will go missing and# unclaimed.

Where do all those lost bags end up?

Stephanie Sy has this story.

STEPHANIE SY: Stuffed bunnies, fancy# suits, and pink platform pumps.

Welcome to the country's only retailer# of lost baggage.

Just off the road in the## small city of Scottsboro, Alabama, the# Unclaimed Baggage store has everything## anyone would need, except almost all# of this once belonged to someone else.

JENNIFER KRITNER, Unclaimed Baggage:# I love to see the items that come## from all over the world.

Som STEPHANIE SY: Jennifer Kritner has# been working here for 26 years.

She## encourages shoppers to check out the# store's museum, where some of the more## eccentric items found in baggage are displayed.

JENNIFER KRITNER: An autographed Michael Jordan## basketball is also among my favorites.

I'm a huge# basketball fan, so that stands out in my mind.

STEPHANIE SY: She says almost all checked bags,## 99.5 percent, end up back with their owners After airlines launch a three-month search# to reconnect the owner to their lost bag,## the store steps in to purchase that# fraction-of-a-percent of bags that are orphaned.

JENNIFER KRITNER: Our team of# openers, that's what we call them,## they open the suitcases and they really mine a they're lost and they're unclaimed.

And# we need to figure out, can we resell this## item?

Do we need to recycle this item,# or is this an item that can be donated?

STEPHANIE SY: Nashville resident# Sheila Allen has been shopping## here for over 20 years.

She says the# discount prices keep h SHEILA ALLEN, Shopper: It amazes# me the things people put in their## suitcases for checked luggage.

Like,# this well, it's a heart-shaped diamond# ring.

It is a cluster of stones.

A year or so ago, I bought a pair of# sandals that had never been worn.

I## paid 20 bucks for them.

And when I looked# the brand up online, they started at $120.

BRYAN OWENS, Owner and CEO, Unclaimed Baggage:# What our guests have in common is, is,## they love the thrill of the hunt.

STEPHANIE SY: Bryan Owens is the owner and CEO# of Unclaimed Baggage.

In 1970, his father, Doyle,## started the company, borrowing a pickup truck# to transport his first load of unclaimed bags.

BRYAN OWENS: Our inventory, I have# always thought about it like an## archaeological dig.

The bags and the# lost-and-found items tha now are different in many ways than# we saw, say, 10 or 15 or 20 years ago.

We are seeing more bags come# through our facility in the## last couple of years than we have# ever seen in the company's history.

STEPHANIE SY: Last year, some 26# million pieces of luggage were lost,## delayed or damaged, the# highest number in a decade.

NICOLE HOGG, Baggage Portfolio Director,# SITA: People still kind of reeling from COVID,## staff shortages, a lot of expertise lost in the## industry.

And we've seen a surge# in the mishandled baggage rate.

STEPHANIE SY: Nicole Hogg is the director of# baggage at aviation data compan after high lost luggage rates the last few# years, new data shows signs of recovery.

NICOLE HOGG: What airlines are doing# is investing in tracking devices,## which gives full visibility of the bag throughout# the whole journey from the time th is checked in to when it arrives and is in# the hands of the customer or the passenger.

You can track your pizza.

You can track your# Amazon delivery.

And customers have p of pressure on the airlines and the industry# to be able to have that visibility available.

STEPHANIE SY: Still, for those passengers# that can't find their bags even temporarily,## the feeling of dread doesn't easily subside.

BRITTANY LOUBIER-VERVISCH, Teacher: I have## never STEPHANIE SY: Last December, Tampa-based# schoolteacher Brittany Loubier- Southwest flight was canceled.

While# at the Tampa International Airport## looking for her own missing suitcase,# she decided to help others find theirs.

Brittany texted around 70 people after finding# their phone numbers on luggage bag tags,## an act of service that got her anointed# online the Luggage Angel.

On the receiving## end of one of those messages was Taira# Meadowcroft, a Missouri-based librarian.

TAIRA MEADOWCROFT, Librarian: I# get this text message and I'm like,## that's weird.

I was staring at it, like, who# is this?

And so I texted back and I wa I'm very thankful for this.

Here is a gift# card, because I was, like, freaking out.

BRITTANY LOUBIER-VERVISCH: I could# have been scrolling through my phone## the whole time that I was waiting there.

But,# instead, I w and helpful.

Travel is so stressful for so# many people.

So I did what I coul STEPHANIE SY: Now, a year later, Brittany# has some advice for the frequent traveler.

BRITTANY LOUBIER-VERVISCH: The easiest# thing really is to have something,## like one of these little Velcro things that goes# on you this is just a plain strap, but you# can have that embroidered or printed## with your name.

That was the lesson# I learned is, clearly mark your ST EPHANIE SY: Back in Scottsboro, Alabama,## Sheila Allen is still shopping# the it She has this travel advice: SHEILA ALLEN: I make sure, when I trav but I have tags on the inside of# my suitcase as to where I'm going,## where I can be contacted.

So, yes,# I don't want to find my stuff here.

(LAUGHTER) STEPHANIE SY For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.