Abbott Elementary Star Lost Her Bags On Vacation: What You're Owed If It Happens To You.

Watch: Get a behind-the-scenes look at a bag's journey at the airport

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the journey checked bags go through when they venture off on the conveyor belt at LaGuardia Airport.

• Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph recently lost her luggage while traveling to Italy.
• Airlines mishandled 0.6 of every 100 bags in 2024, a slight increase from the previous year.
• Passengers can receive compensation for lost or delayed luggage, with limits set by the Department of Transportation and international regulations.

Even celebrities have travel headaches sometimes.

Sheryl Lee Ralph, best known these days for playing kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on the hit ABC show "Abbott Elementary" posted on social media Tuesday about how her bags had been lost by the airline on a trip to Italy.

The post, which included a meme from her character on the show, put a positive spin on the setback, with Ralph writing "I am making the choice to be happy and enjoy Italy because it’s easy for one bad experience to spoil many great ones."

Airlines are generally pretty good about baggage handling, but their officials recognize it's extremely frustrating for travelers when they get it wrong.

According to the Department of Transportation, U.S. airlines on average mishandled 0.6 of every 100 bags transported in 2024, a 0.1 point increase over 2023.

If a bag is never recovered, passengers are entitled to compensation for their lost goods.

Airlines are allowed to cap their damage liability to $4,700 for domestic flights or about $1,700 for international itineraries, according to the DOT. Carriers are allowed to exclude some things from their liability responsibility on domestic itineraries, including fragile or perishable items, electronics, cash and other valuables, so long as those exceptions are disclosed in the airline's contract of carriage.

For delayed bags, airlines are required by the DOT to provide reasonable compensation to travelers for daily incidentals.

The DOT suggests filing a lost luggage claim as soon as possible if your bag does not show up on the belt after your flight.

Fortunately, for Ralph, her luggage was recovered. In a later post on Tuesday, she shared a picture of her suitcases with the caption, "The bags have arrived!!!!!"

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.