- Joined
- Dec 2, 2016
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Hi all,
I recently had an unfortunate incident on a VA domestic flight and I was hoping to share my experience and would be interested to see if anyone had been in a similar situation.
During a recent trip to Sydney, I discovered that my checked baggage had been tampered with and an item of material personal and monetary value was missing. The item, concealed and packed inside a bag within the luggage, was there before I checked it in at VA's counter at Adelaide airport. I retrieved my luggage as soon as it arrived on the carousel. There was no external damage, no other lost items in luggage and the zipper was securely fastened, albeit at a slightly different position than I remembered. It seems impossible that the bag containing the item dropped out by itself. I contacted VA's baggage claims team, and they told me that they've checked with the airports and didn't find anything that had come loose. Given the circumstances and their responses to date, I'm led to believe that someone may have interfered with my baggage at airside.
I've heard about tampered luggage and item thefts in airports all around the world, but I didn't think it'd happen on a domestic trip in Australia. This is especially surprising given how stringent ASIC/VA have been with vetting and security measures. In my 20yrs of travel experience, both domestically and internationally, I've never had my luggage tampered with, let alone an item stolen from within the luggage (perhaps I've just been extremely lucky until now).
So far, I've contacted VA, provided a stat declaration, and submitted a theft report with the AFP. VA has been responsive and assured me they're following their protocols, but I've yet to hear about any potential investigation (if any are forthcoming).
In all likelihood, I won't recover the item or receive any compensation, but I'd be interested in hearing from others who might have had similar experiences. I did a quick search online - forum posts and news in the AU media about similar incidents seem to primarily involve other (usually developing) countries, or theft of entire luggages from carousels"
Also, I'm aware that theft and more serious crimes occur all the time, including in supposed secure areas and sometimes little can be done after the fact. It just pains me to think that if this is indeed an incident of theft, the individual responsible might continue to operate with impunity, and the lack of any consequence could embolden them to offend in the future
I recently had an unfortunate incident on a VA domestic flight and I was hoping to share my experience and would be interested to see if anyone had been in a similar situation.
During a recent trip to Sydney, I discovered that my checked baggage had been tampered with and an item of material personal and monetary value was missing. The item, concealed and packed inside a bag within the luggage, was there before I checked it in at VA's counter at Adelaide airport. I retrieved my luggage as soon as it arrived on the carousel. There was no external damage, no other lost items in luggage and the zipper was securely fastened, albeit at a slightly different position than I remembered. It seems impossible that the bag containing the item dropped out by itself. I contacted VA's baggage claims team, and they told me that they've checked with the airports and didn't find anything that had come loose. Given the circumstances and their responses to date, I'm led to believe that someone may have interfered with my baggage at airside.
I've heard about tampered luggage and item thefts in airports all around the world, but I didn't think it'd happen on a domestic trip in Australia. This is especially surprising given how stringent ASIC/VA have been with vetting and security measures. In my 20yrs of travel experience, both domestically and internationally, I've never had my luggage tampered with, let alone an item stolen from within the luggage (perhaps I've just been extremely lucky until now).
So far, I've contacted VA, provided a stat declaration, and submitted a theft report with the AFP. VA has been responsive and assured me they're following their protocols, but I've yet to hear about any potential investigation (if any are forthcoming).
In all likelihood, I won't recover the item or receive any compensation, but I'd be interested in hearing from others who might have had similar experiences. I did a quick search online - forum posts and news in the AU media about similar incidents seem to primarily involve other (usually developing) countries, or theft of entire luggages from carousels"
Also, I'm aware that theft and more serious crimes occur all the time, including in supposed secure areas and sometimes little can be done after the fact. It just pains me to think that if this is indeed an incident of theft, the individual responsible might continue to operate with impunity, and the lack of any consequence could embolden them to offend in the future
