Airport Responsibility / Security

[virgin never again]

Having recently lost my bags on a VIRGIN BLUE flight (never, never again), it occurred to me about the ridiculous system of bag collection at domestic airports. Why do they even bother to barcode tag bags when they dont seem to be able to track your bag? Surely they should be used to collect your bag at the other end by producing the matching barcode. In reality anyone could have wandered into the airport arrivals area and taken my bag from the carousel. What is the procedure to check that this doesnt happen, does anyone know? Can I demand CCTV to check, or have I been watching to much tele? If someone inadvertently collected my bag by mistake, what happens to it? I'm sure there are people out there who simply couldn't be bothered to return it. A much better system should be in place.

 

[anat0l]

Fact is, in many, many airports the "security" is just as poor.

You could realistically, in Australia, pick up any bag which does not belong to you, and walk out successfully. There is a part mitigation of this risk in international terminals (due to having to pass customs), but in domestic airports it's just too simple.

The only way you'll know you haven't got away with stealing a bag is when its rightful owner is running and screaming after you. Of course, if you're floundering somewhere else (e.g. in an airport lounge), then you mightn't be none the wiser until you realise your bag is gone. If someone steals your bag, they may pull out the CCTV footage, but we all know that using CCTV footage to establish who stole your bag is pretty ineffective. And you can't just "demand" it; it's only when you raise the case that you hope that those who try to establish who took the bag think about looking at the CCTV footage to assist them in finding the thief. Thieves would probably face standard theft penalties for taking the bag but otherwise it's pretty much next to nothing as we all would know very well and that is even if they get caught at all.

For this reason I always mark my baggage with distinguishing features. My bag is pretty common both in shape and in colour, so of course this is very important (how many black rollerbags have you seen recently?). I also try and stand as close as possible to a dispenser - yeah, you might not get the active one, but try to prepare yourself for it. Now normally I am one of the first pax to disembark an aircraft but if not I'll still crowd behind to see where the bags are being sent out. Then it's just a matter of keeping a sharp eye out for your luggage and making sure that when it arrives you grab it. And I always check the routing tag against my bag receipt. Always. Some people call that unnecessary or cough, but having nearly been a victim of my bag being taken away by the wrong person before, I consciously insist that I do it all the time.

And barcoding (or now, RFID enabling in some airports only) of bags is designed to track, trace and route bags. The scanners behind the pretty walls of the airport route bags to the correct location to be loaded onto the correct aircraft. There must be some tracking element, because I've had bags left behind, and with a baggage receipt the airline desk (this is QF) has been able to tell me that, "yes, your bag was left behind in XYZ because of ABC reason (fair enough); we will deliver it to you as soon as possible, here is a file reference for your bag (or rather, case number)."

One solution would be to make the baggage claim area (in domestic more so, of course) a secure area where the only way to leave the area with a bag is to clearly show your bag tags match your bag receipts (which further match the registered checked bags as brought up by a database, since it might happen a thief could take a bag off the carousel, tear off the routing tag and pretend that it was a "carry on", which is not tagged). No one would really like to change the model we have now: operations people don't want to because it is cheap and the incidence of theft is "low"; travellers don't want another layer of "security", not to mention a "secure" area for domestic implies that you can't have Mum & Dad helping Nan & Pop take their overweight bag off the carousel, plus I'm sure there are enough amateurs out there who discard or lose their bag tags before they claim their luggage.

 

[virgin never again]

Thanks Anat01. All very good points. Just makes me mad that people can't be trusted, but as you say, its a small minority and I guess I have just been unlucky. It is possible that it will still turn up but I wasn't certain about how the tags work and as you say the tracking system should be able to tell where it has been sent. As the airline haven't told me anything yet, my chances are getting slimmer. Bright yellow, striped and spotted coughbersome luggage from now on I think.
cheers

 

[MEL_Traveller]

What if someone inadvertently collected my bag by mistake, what happens to it? I'm sure there are people out there who simply couldn't be bothered to return it. A much better system should be in place.

Well - if it is a mistake, you'd think they would want THEIR bag back? So in the process of retrieving their bag they would swap them over one would assume.

 

[StevePER]

I've been to a few places where they have checked baggage receipts or photo ID on leaving the luggage collection area, it is a good idea for security but a major pain if you're not expecting it. I think this was probably in South America.

I always keep an eye on the luggage as it's coming out and I've had people pick up my bag a couple of times, and once almost walked off with it.

 

[markis10]

Security in airports amounts to protection of the assets and aircraft, not personal belongings, just like security on train stations, in shopping centres etc. The murder at Sydney airport is a good example of the protection level, and CCTV coverage.

Basically its a case of all care but no responsibility, I once had a laptop stolen in the Qantas club underneath the CCTV dome (I did not know the camera was turned off). People wonder why I almost run to the carousel, I want to be there when the first bag comes out to make sure its the right carousel and hopefully eyeball my bag before it can be redirected accidentley or on purpose.

 

[notzac]

I've been to a few places where they have checked baggage receipts or photo ID on leaving the luggage collection area, it is a good idea for security but a major pain if you're not expecting it. I think this was probably in South America.

They were doing that at MEX when I was there. Granted -- this was for an international flight, so it makes sense that they have security prior to leaving the secured area -- but I thought it was a great idea.

 

[JetLagged]

While not being totally serious in making this suggestion - it would still be good.

How about airlines have large enough areas and large enough staff so that it runs like the conveyor belt at a dry cleaners - you give the nice man or woman your bag tags, they press in the numbers, and your bags (and only your bags) are delivered to you. OK - I know ALL (or at least the majority) of flaws in this idea - but hey, if it could be done quickly and efficiently, if would be a winner. Maybe a jumping point for some budding genius out there!

Mind you, even the most sloppy of Australian airports has to be astronomically better than LA airport in 2007 - we were transiting from QAN to an Alaskan Airline plane, and were told to pick up our bags, walk around the corner, and just leave them there - now, talk about security NOT. We insisted on having our bags locked up safely - afterf a hell of a lot of grumbling and cussing, they did - and yes, our bags did arrive in Vancoluver with the others (mind you, that is another interesting observation, Vancouver International Airport)!

 

[ButFli]

Man, even Countrylink and Amtrak are capable of checking bags against receipts.

 

[Skoogle]

A simple solution may be to extend the secure zone to cover the baggage area.

Not a total solution, but it would be an easy/cheap start, and may be enough.

 

[markis10]

There has to be a compromise between security and ease of use, are the same people calling for better bag authentication going to be complaining about how long the process takes, have you tried to pick up your coat from a cloak room after an event with 300 people in front of you and have you thought of the cost of having staff there which will be paid for by someone?

The already mentioned countrylink/amtrak offer a $$/km value thats poorer than the airlines for a reason, one of them is the staff needed to run the service. I have never had my bag stolen although I have had it taken by someone else by mistake once, in that case I was not following my normal rule of making sure I spot every bag as it comes out.

As a passenger I am hard pressed to establish a reason why I should pay for someone else's lack of vigilance, all the carousels are designed so that a lot of people can see whats on them easily! If you are concerned about losing your valuables, most of them can be taken as carry on at some inconvenience to you, that way you are paying the price for your piece of mind!

 

[Groundfeeder]

just ensure your AFF/FT bag tag is clearly displayed - I've yet to see another in my travels but notice heaps of GW tags.

 

[BAM1748]

I've been to a few places where they have checked baggage receipts or photo ID on leaving the luggage collection area, it is a good idea for security but a major pain if you're not expecting it. I think this was probably in South America.

I always keep an eye on the luggage as it's coming out and I've had people pick up my bag a couple of times, and once almost walked off with it.

Some US airports (Orlando springs to mind) checked the number on the barcode on the bag to the number on the little barcode sticker on the boading pass. A fraction slower to leave the building but was pleasently surprised they did it.

 

[Cocitus23]

After thousands of flights I have never had a bag stolen, and I would NOT be in favour of any increased security beyond what we have now. I know that the present system seems on face value to be very vulnerable to theft, and I certainly agree with JetLagged about the feeling of unease one has when transiting through LAX. But, by and large, I think that ANAT01 and markis10 have summed the situation up very well.

Funnily enough, my experience suggests to me that the concern that airpoort management gives to this particular issue is about inversely proportional to the sophistication of the local population. For example I have only very rarely encountered cross checking of tags upon exit from airports in first world countries, whereas it is the norm at UPG (Ujung Pandang on the island of Sulawesi). But the best (?) of all is at FTU (Fort Dauphin, at the southern tip of Madagascar) where the procedure is that all the arriving passengers are herded into a room, and the head porter carries each bag, one at a time, from a back room onto a dais in front of the passengers. There he announces the bag number in French - God help you if you can't speak French - and invites the owner to step forward. He then studiously checks the tag number against the owner's stub, before handing the bag over and then returning for the next piece. For a plane carrying say 100 passengers, the process takes about an hour. And no, they don't take any notice of Qantas "Priority Baggage" tags

 

[NYCguy]

I certainly agree with JetLagged about the feeling of unease one has when transiting through LAX. But, by and large, I think that ANAT01 and markis10 have summed the situation up very well.

Transiting LAX is a nightmare with just hand-luggage!

Seriously, though, I haven't yet lost a bag, but I do occasionally worry, particularly at airports (yes, LAX) where the immigration processes are interminable (this is one benefit to arriving on UA - they have "in-house" immigration and customs at T7), particularly when they move all the luggage off a carousel and onto the floor because of demand.

I use black luggage, but I put my wanky Centurion ID tags on it. Yes, they might make me look like a ponce, but I don't care - how many have you seen on a luggage-belt recently? Not many? I rest my case.

 

[drron]

Then there was this story from last year-
Thiefhunters in Paradise » Why airport luggage thieves steal black bags
"
Yeah, this story’s everywhere, about the Phoenix couple who made a living stealing luggage off the airport carousel. Police found almost a thousand suitcases in their house.
Not a single report has pointed out that the stolen luggage is almost all black. I described this strategy in a post more than a year ago, and in my book way before that. This is an M.O. This is something to notice and learn from.
Thieves prefer to steal black luggage because so much of it looks alike. If the thief is caught red-handed by the bag’s owner, he only has to say sorry, it looks just like mine. And he’s out of there. Scot-free."
Moral-forget black and tie something nice and colourful to your bags.

 

[markis10]

Moral-forget black and tie something nice and colourful to your bags.

Is that what you do with the golf attire when not playing?

 

[themaiz]

Transiting LAX is a nightmare with just hand-luggage!

Last Sunday morning I came from Oz through LAX/TBIT and I'm delighted to report that the immigration process has speeded up hugely. And no confusing green form to fill in for the visa waiver. Woo-hoo!!!

But US Customs appears to have compensated for the additional immigration throughput by thinning out the number of exit inspectors. That led (in this case) to four lines of desperate-to-exit pax, each line snaking around the back of the carousels... would that be 100+ carts per line? It was impossible to move.

Combined result: no problem securing bags at the carousel (because I was already there when the bags started to appearl) but an hour delay getting out the door. Bummer.

Not even a beagle in sight to add amusement value.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Then there was this story from last year-
Thiefhunters in Paradise » Why airport luggage thieves steal black bags
"
Yeah, this story’s everywhere, about the Phoenix couple who made a living stealing luggage off the airport carousel. Police found almost a thousand suitcases in their house.
Not a single report has pointed out that the stolen luggage is almost all black. I described this strategy in a post more than a year ago, and in my book way before that. This is an M.O. This is something to notice and learn from.
Thieves prefer to steal black luggage because so much of it looks alike. If the thief is caught red-handed by the bag’s owner, he only has to say sorry, it looks just like mine. And he’s out of there. Scot-free."
Moral-forget black and tie something nice and colourful to your bags.

I don't know of anyone who carries a hot pink suitcase that has had one stolen before.

drron you could always find a suitcase to match your golf shorts!

 

[VirginiaF]

I don't know of anyone who carries a hot pink suitcase that has had one stolen before.

Yes - there's no arguing about that one, OBB. I picked up a BRIGHT lime green soft sider (Delsey, no less, with 10 year guarantee!) a few years back when I was in the US. All my friends, relatives and colleagues laughed at me, but I could easily spot my bag from the other end of the rows of carousels amongst the sea of black Samsonites ... even through the haze of jet lagged eyes.

In fact, I was standing at the carousel in SYD once, and a woman standing next to me pointed it out, saying, "Look at that bag. It's hideous." As I stepped forward to retreive it, I was kind of comforted by the fact that at least my bag was out fairly quickly, was easy to see, not many right minded people would want to take a BRIGHT lime green bag, and more so because her bag had yet to arrive or be recognised (I can live with hideousness, I'm not proud!).

Another good thing about the bag was that my driver could see me from across the melee of exiting people and gaggle of taxis/hire cars. He would swing by and park up near where I would be standing - my bag was his guiding light, especially in the gloom of an early winter morning or after an evening flight!

I have retired the bag now (I have grey ones with lots of stickers on them), and a while ago, my cat took a liking to it and made it into her bed, sleeping on it every night. So now, it's covered in a thick layer of cat fur (she's a brown/black tabby with longish hair). I've been thinking of using it again on an internaitonal flight - just to see how the beagles react!

Oh, and as for having extra secuitry systems and procedures ... IMHO, that would just result in pushing up travel costs even more.