The Consumer Council on Thursday called on airlines to be more transparent with their policies regarding their handling of damaged, lost or delayed baggage, saying there’s been a hike in the number of such complaints.

The watchdog received 61 complaints in the first eight months this year, compared to just 14 in 2022 before the full resumption of air travel.

“After the pandemic this year, more and more people are travelling around, so the global traffic is actually increasing. That's why the [number of] related complaints is also increasing,” the vice-chairman of the council's research and testing committee, Victor Lui, said.

He noted that the majority of complaints were related to the service quality of the airlines while handling reports of damaged, lost, or delayed baggage, as well as the amount of compensation they offered.

Out of the 22 airlines surveyed, the watchdog said only two refrained from depreciating the value of lost baggage when compensating passengers.

The remaining 20 carriers applied annual depreciation rates ranging from eight to 30 percent, depending on their internal guidelines as well as the policies of the departure and destination regions.

The council's chief executive, Gilly Wong, said some of these airlines lacked transparency in their compensation details, and urged them to provide clear and accurate information to avoid disputes.

She also advised passengers to retain all relevant receipts, and take photographs to record the condition of their baggage before checking in.