The latest government figures show airplane luggage problems remain near their highest level in more than a decade despite new rules that encourage travelers to check fewer bags. Transportation Department figures released Wednesday for the month of October put 2006 on track to be the worst year for lost, delayed, damaged or stolen baggage since 1991. The figures show that in October, passengers reported 383,000 pieces of checked luggage were mishandled — an average of 12,350 a day. That's the fourth-largest monthly total ever recorded. The rate of luggage problems was 7.5 per 1,000 passengers. That's down from August and September but 51% higher than October 2005 and nearly double the rate for 2002, when problems hit an all-time low. The problems persisted in October even though the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lifted a prohibition on carrying any liquids on board airplanes. The ban, imposed in August after British authorities foiled an alleged plot to bomb U.S.-bound airlines using liquid explosives, led passengers to check millions more bags and was widely blamed for the initial increase in lost luggage.

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