Whenever baggage is found without an owner, it can be registered as on-hand baggage. It is then automatically matched with various missing-baggage files (called AHLs). Whenever an on-hand produces a likely match, the station that registered the missing bag file receives an alert. The bag is matched based on its routing number, tag number, passenger's surname, type of baggage and content. When a handling agent finds an on-hand which matches one of AHLs, he/she can request the on-hand by sending a message to the station that registered it.
