Airlines mishandled 23 percent fewer bags globally last year as passengers traveled lighter to avoid new fees and updated technology helped keep track of luggage, Bloomberg News Service reported.

The number of checked bags that were late, sent to the wrong place, damaged or lost entirely fell to 32.8 million from 42.4 million a year earlier, SITA, the world's largest provider of airline computer applications said.

The decline was the first since the group began publishing an annual luggage report in 2005. A policy of charging for checked bags has gathered pace since 2006, with many airlines now requiring passengers to pay for more than one item. Low-cost carriers including Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest, impose fees for all stowed cases, buoying revenue even as the recession hurts ticket sales.