You just booked a last-minute holiday and have 3 hours before the flight.
You grab everything you can see, drop it into a suitcase, top it with your sunscreen,
and rush to the airport. You run through security and make it 1 minute before check-in closes.
A friendly airline agent asks you to put your suitcase onto the scale and enters it into
the baggage handling system. Your suitcase gets a tag with a unique ten-digit barcode.
It has your flight information in it. Many airports and airlines use
a new technology with radio-frequency identification chips to track baggage
in real time. This should help solve the problem of lost and delayed bags.
So, your suitcase disappears behind the rubber curtain. Now its epic journey on
the conveyor belt begins. At larger airports it goes on for miles. It’s like a roller coaster
with thousands of bags traveling at the same time. Don’t miss the right turn. Once again,
this time to the left. Oops, one of the bags just flipped over to another lane.
Hopefully it has all the right tags and will get on the right flight.
Another turn – it’s like a busy highway in rush hour. First stop – security checkpoint. The bags
are scanned with an X-Ray machine and often with chemical sniffers.
If something seems suspicious about a certain bag, it will also be inspected by hand.
All clear. Your bag makes it to a huge warehouse. In here, robots or staff go
through baggage to send it to the right plane. They can scan the tag your suitcase received
at check-in. Some bags stay in the sorting point for a while – they must be off to later flights.
Your suitcase gets on a bag cart together with plenty of others.
Airport ramp agents control the process. The bag tug pulls the cart onto the tarmac.
Baggage handlers load it onto the plane, and it takes-off. As the plane lands at your destination,
another crew of baggage handlers welcomes it. They unload all the bags and take them to the terminal.
This time the journey is way shorter. Your suitcase goes
straight onto the baggage carousel and you’re happily reunited with it.
This ideal scenario works around 99 per cent of the time. When you have a connecting flight, your
bag will be moved from plane to plane with you. If you miss the connecting flight through your fault,
your bag will make it to the second plane without you and wait for you there. When your layover is
less than 60 minutes, check-in agent mislabels your bag by accident or the tag gets detached on
the way, your baggage might get lost. When the airline figures out what went wrong,
they’ll send it on the next flight to your destination.
If they can’t find and return it to the owner, or you don’t claim it within 90 days,
the contents of your bag can go for charity. They also sell them as second-hand goods.
The most unusual of those unclaimed things end up at special museums. Ancient Egyptian artifacts,
a huge uncut emerald, 1770s violin, naval guidance system, and a replica of a suit of
armor created in the 19th century are just a few examples of those unclaimed items.
Travel security also confiscates hundreds of thousands of items each year.
Some of them are thrown away, others are donated to non-profits or schools,
and stuff like self-defense sprays is used for training purposes. To increase your odds of
happily reuniting with your bag, check in as early as you can. This way, the airline will
have enough time to get your belongings to the right plane. Double check that the agent
has printed the right three-letter code of the airport you are flying to on your baggage tag.
Before checking your bag, label it outside and inside. Don't write your home address on the
outside label. Thieves can use that information to break into your home while you're on vacation.
You can leave your office address or just mention your phone number or email address.
Duct tape a card with your name and address to the inside lid of your bag.
If the outer tag falls off, airline agents will be able to identify the bag by the inside tag.
Remove all the old tags from previous flights. Airport staff have to work with thousands of
bags every day, and have only a second for yours. They can easily make a mistake if
they see more than one tag. Make sure all the pockets and compartments on your bag are zipped
and fastened well. Don’t leave any loose ends or tie things like laced shoes to the handle.
Your backpack straps mustn’t dangle in all directions. If any of those items
hang on to something on the conveyor belt, they could be ruined or lost.
Make a list of all the items or at least the most expensive ones in your phone.
Take a picture of the outside and contents of your bag. If you have to file a claim for a
lost bag or confirm a missing item, it will be super handy. You can also print out a copy of
that picture and leave it at the airport to help them find your bag easier. Don’t put any liquids
in the front pocket or on top of your things. When baggage handlers toss the bag on the cart,
that shampoo or lotion bottle can get damaged and leak. Cover liquid bottles with duct tape
and put them in a separate sealable plastic bag. Keep that bag in the main compartment.
Put the heaviest items at the bottom of your bag near the wheels. This way it won’t tip
over. Pack super tightly to make it more stable. Mark your bag with a bright ribbon,
an unusual baggage tag or sticker, add yellow duct tap, put on a vibrant cover – make it
stand out. This way no one will grab it before you on baggage claim by accident.
Go for waterproof luggage. Don’t buy the most expensive-looking bag. It’s a magnet for thieves.
If you’re a heavy packer, buy a luggage scale and use it before you leave for the airport.
Don’t get too close to the weight limit. Airport luggage scales may be a bit off,
and you’d have to pay for extra weight. Plan your outfits before you pack and wear the heaviest
clothing during the trip. Roll your clothes to avoid wrinkles and lines and save packing space.
Put your socks and underwear in a small reusable cloth bag. Pack your shoes inside a shower cap to
keep the bag clean. Stuff those shoes and other hollow things with souvenirs or similar trinkets.
Put a laundry dryer sheet in the bag to make your clothes smell great.
Don’t pack any food items that perish quickly. If your bag gets delayed,
they’ll make the rest of your things smell like disaster. Add a TSA-friendly
lock to your bag. The agents will be able to open it safely with a master key if it's
randomly selected for additional screening. If you secure it with a non-compatible lock,
they'll have to break it to open your bag. It will continue the journey with no lock whatsoever.
Choose combination locks over padlocks. You can easily lose tiny padlock keys while traveling,
and then you’d have to break that lock at your final destination.
Three digit locks are more common, but you can find four digit models for extra security.
Pick a metal lock in some bright color to make your bag safe and easier to recognize.
If you don't want to buy a lock, use cable ties instead. If your luggage has lockable zips
pull the largest cable tie that fits through the loops. If your bag doesn’t have the
dedicated loops, thread the cable tie through a little notch in each of the zips instead.
Pack some scissors, blades a nail file or some
other tool to cut the cable ties in an unlocked pocket of your checked bag.
Sign up for bag tracking. Some airlines let you do it through a mobile app.
Your checked-in baggage will be scanned at check-in, during loading onto the plane,
on transfer form one flight to another, and when it arrives at
the final destination. You can also buy a GPS-tracker or luggage that comes with it.
Never put cameras, laptops, cell phones, tablets and even portable hard drives in your checked-in
bags. If for some reason you have to check them in, make sure they're completely off,
protected from accidental activation,and well-packed. Your makeup bag,
jewelry, meds, especially prescription ones, don't belong in your checked-in bag, either.
If you have to bring lithium batteries with you, put them in your carry on in manufacturer's
packaging or covered with tape. Lithium batteries with unprotected electrodes can contact loose
metal objects and ignite. If it happens inside the cargo hold, no one will be able to stop it.
Check if your insurance would cover some of your losses if things go wrong. If you
have expensive clothes and luggage itself, purchase excess valuation from the airline.
Otherwise your compensation for lost or damaged bags will be not so generous.