This airport has not lost a single piece of luggage in its 30-year history

An airport in Japan is celebrating a major milestone: no piece of luggage has ever been lost in thirty years.

Japan’s Kansai International Airport (KIX) has won the Skytrax Award for World’s Best Baggage Delivery Airport 2024.

“We believe that the fact that no luggage has been lost since the airport opened is the result of the daily efforts and careful work of all involved, including airlines and handling companies,” the airport said in a press release.

Located in Osaka, Kansai Airport first opened in 1994 and serves an estimated 20 to 30 million passengers per year.

The award, which the airport has received eight times, is based on an evaluation of the wait time before baggage claim, baggage delivery efficiency and response to lost baggage, the news release said.

The airport handled about 10 million pieces of luggage in fiscal 2023, news organization Nikkei Asia reported.

“Multi-layer audit work” is what makes their track record so successful, thanks to two or three employees reviewing the types and quantities of luggage for each plane, as well as passengers’ transit information.

“It is important for multiple staff members to share information to avoid mistakes arising from wrong assumptions,” Tsuyoshi Habuta, who oversees baggage operations at airport operator CKTS, told Nikkei Asia.

The outlet reported that the airport has a manual detailing rules specific to each airline, which is updated regularly to include staff suggestions based on experience.

CKTS strives to get luggage to the baggage carousel within 15 minutes of the aircraft’s arrival.

However, airport staff don’t believe they are doing anything remarkable.

“We don’t feel like we’ve done anything special,” Kenji Takanishi, a public relations officer for Kansai, told CNN. “We worked as we normally do.

“We do our work exclusively on a daily basis and are recognized for it. We are of course happy with the award. I think our staff, especially those who work in the field, feel more satisfied.”

Kansai Airport expects to receive 37.3 million passengers in fiscal year 2025, thanks to the six-month global innovation forum World Expo 2025, Nikkei Asia said.