Damaged luggage.Letter in the Telegraph

[cslogg]

Anyone else see this in The Telegraph at the weekend?
What should we do lock or leave unlocked?

cslogg

Why did security ruin our luggage?
S M Bennett from Stroud, Gloucestershire wrote
My husband and I recently returned from a holiday in Florida. We checked in our bags at Orlando airport for a BA flight to Gatwick. When we collected them from the carousel at Gatwick we found they had both been forced open and severely damaged.
One of the cases was not locked (the keys had been mislaid), but it had been wrenched open. The other case was securely locked and the locks had been entirely ripped off on one side and broken in half on the other.
Inside both cases we found a leaflet from the US Transport Security Administration regretting having to do this, adding that the "TSA is not liable for damage to your locks resulting in [sic] this necessary security precaution".
There were no signs anywhere in the airport telling us to leave our suitcases unlocked. While I fully appreciate that security at airports is paramount, I cannot see why any organisation should have the freedom to ruin passengers' suitcases in this way and then absolve itself of all responsibility.
Gill's response
On January 1, the new Transport Security Administration began screening all checked baggage at US airports. Its website - www.tsa.dot.gov - does advise travellers to keep bags unlocked to avoid the need to break into them. I agree that signs to this effect should be displayed at airports.
So why do bags need to be opened if they have been screened? The problem, it appears, is that bags sometimes contain items that are not readily identifiable. The scanners read them as an impenetrable mass, so screeners have been instructed to open such bags and re-seal them with a "tamper-evident seal".
Books and documents can be difficult for the scanners to identify and the TSA recommends that you do not stack them in your suitcase, but spread them out.
The TSA has plans "in the near future" to provide seals at the airport for passengers to secure their bags. Meanwhile, it suggests using a standard "cable tie", which can be snipped off easily by the security officials and also by you at your destination (if you can find a pair of scissors or a knife, given that these items are no longer allowed in hand luggage).
Incidentally, the TSA also recommends that passengers do not put film into checked baggage because some of the new screening equipment will damage undeveloped film. Also avoid packing items of food and drink, and consider putting personal belongings in clear plastic bags to reduce the chance that a TSA screener will handle them.
If you are flying via the US to South America, an unlocked suitcase is a gift to the thieves who regularly pilfer from baggage airside at many airports. You can either take a chance and lock your case (remembering to pack only items that are easily identifiable under X-ray) or remove anything remotely valuable.

 

[bengunn]

Yes I saw it as well - not very helpful is it?

 

[WDWfan uk]

I read an article where a couple returning from USA had left their luggage unlocked as per USA policy and had contents stolen only to be told by their airline, ( I think it was Virgin Atlantic but it is probably the same for all), that it wasn't their policy that luggage should be left unlocked, and also the insurance company wouldn't pay up as their luggage was not secure.

The only advice the travel journalist could offer was to check with your insurance company ....... I would also call your airline for guidance.

This really needs to be clarified for people visiting the USA and please do tell us what your insurance companies and airlines advise as I can see this causing lots of problems.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

I'm also interested in any response from the airlines. Perhaps a good thing to do would be to ask when you check your luggage in whether the airline wants your suitcase left locked or unlocked. I'll do this when I fly to California in a few months (BA for trans-Atlantic and Alaska Airlines for internal flight) and report back what is said.

Regards

Rob

 

[Enright78]

When we flew to San francisco in Feb American Airlines told us to leave checked luggage unlocked and to carry any valuables in Hand luggage.
We had no problems, but if you are concerned how about a loclable luggage strap round the case, if they broke that it wouldn't be too much of a financial loss?

 

[floridalol]

I often travel to Hartford via Washington on business and it seems that travellers are in a Catch-22 situation. Airlines want your luggage unlocked for security purposes and insurers insist on locked cases for security! Insurers will not pay out for items stolen from unlocked cases and will not pay out for damaged cases caused by airline security. If anyone knows of an insurance company that does pay out when cases are left unlocked please let me know - they will get my business.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

This is taken from BA's website:

Ensure that when you present your baggage at check-in that you:


. Check in within the recommended time before your departure - check with your local British Airways office or your travel agent

. Your baggage is securely closed - where possible locked

. Loose straps or other items are not hanging from the bag - they may get caught in the baggage system

. Bags with two handles - we suggest you fasten them together. This will ensure that neither gets caught up in the baggage system

. Do not pack medication, important documents, valuable items or cash in your checked baggage

. Label each bag on the inside with your name and full destination address and on the outside with your name and destination city

. Remove all old destination labels from previous trips, old labels may delay your baggage

. Do not carry unidentified items on behalf of other people

Point 2 seems very clear - lock your baggage where you can. I suppose the question is two what extent regulations at US airports take precedence over BA's regulations when flying from US airports.

Regards

Rob

 

[kazzie]

I saw this at the weekend and was concerned about it too.How about the suggestion of using cable ties so the luggage is secure but can be easily cut off if customs wants to have a look at the contents?

 

[bengunn]

Not too sure how impressed the insurance companies would be with cable ties. After al any thief could also cut them off; the only point would be that you could tell if your case had been opened but not who had opened it.

 

[BevS97]

To be honest, a thief could break off a lock just as easily as a cable tie. Suitcase locks are hardly the most secure. My mum (who works for BA) tells me that the most often method of theft is to simply slit a softsided suitcase open.

I think the cable tie is probably the best solution if you are keen on locking your luggage, although the dilemma of how to open it is a good one if you aren't allowed to carry any scissors!

Personally, we don't lock our luggage, but we don't carry anything valuable either.

Bev

 

[JoanneR]

I was thinking about taking a cigarette lighter to burn off the cable tie - should it be necessary - before we get to our destination. Not sure if this sounds stupid or sensible!

Jo

 

[Scotfan]

Dont think you'd be allowed a cigarette lighter, would you?
All our parties suitcases were searched at some point last month, mine was on boarding the cruise ship. Imagine my panic 15 mins before sailing and my case containing evening wear etc still hadnt appeared!

 

[Kim Styles]

We are flying out to Orlando with Virgin next week. I also read this article and I was going to leave it unlocked but tie it where the padlock would be. Does flying into the US with locked bags also cause a problem? Obviously I don't want ruined lugage or missing items, not that I take anything valuble, but that dosn't stop a thief having a look.

 

[UKDEB]

I would rather have a damaged suitcase than have its contents stolen. On the whole, I would say that the contents are more valuable than the suitcase. I do agree that a determined thief will easily get into any suitcase, but at least you are less likely to be a victim of an opportunist baggage handler.

How does an insurance company establish whether or not your suitcase was locked?

Another matter which crosses my mind - just because the TSA places a leaflet in your luggage claiming that it is not liable for damaging your luggage, doesn't mean that claim is not challengable. Having said that, a damaged suitcase is a small price to pay to ensure that the plane I am travelling in does not get blown out of the sky.

 

[SidB]

Why the hell can't they be screened in your presence ? They can do it with hand luggage and must already have big enough scanners.

 

[floridalol]

That sounds a great idea SidB. Luggage could be screened and then searched if necessary at check-in then padlocked and security stripped by the airline so that luggage could not be tampered with afterwards. Only problem is that the length of time checking-in would escalate but it would certainly be worth it I think.

 

[BevS97]

They did this to us in Miami (screened them in our presence) and it took hours and was complete chaos - personally I'd rather have left them and let them break the lock if necessary.
We only have cheap cases from Walmart anyway (all collected as we have flown out with one, and needed another when it was time to fly back)

Bev

 

[SidB]

I don't agree about the chaos. There must be the same amount of manpower involved in checking cases behind the screens, and it must be far quicker to get the customer to open their own cases, rather than damage locked ones.

And if there was somebody trying to smuggle explosives aboard they'd be on hand to arrest. We checked our luggage in and then left the airport for a few hours.

Maybe they want you to spend hours wandering around the airport shops and restaurants, or am I being cynical ?

 

[BevS97]

Trust me, it was chaos. We had to take our bags to a seperate area, then leave them there and wait outside of that area until they were screened. They screened one bag at a time - if there was a problem with it, which there nearly always was, then the owner of the bag had to come into the room and watch while they unpacked it. Once they were happy with the bag, then it was sent on it's way and they did another one. We had 4 bags and we were waiting well over an hour maybe 2, I don't know when you are waiting like that it always seems much longer than it really is, this was after we had checked in. There was no way of knowing how long you would be waiting, you just had to stand there and wait. The bags were all just chucked in to the room in a pile, and there was no order to them, so one of ours was in a corner and it just sat there, if we tried to point out to someone that it had been overlooked again, we were told to leave the room (in no uncertain terms).
Eventually one of our bags was screened, and Phil was called in for them to open it. It turned out they had seen some fudge on the screen and couldn't identify it, so once they were happy about that, the bag was released, but we still had to wait for the other 3 to go through.

Bev

 

[floridalol]

I can understand that doing it that way is a problem Bev. But if luggage was screened when you check it in and get your boarding passes it shouldn't take that much more time. I know that the facilities to do this would have to be put in place but once operational would put an end to insurance problems once and for all, if luggage was broken into after check-in the insurance company would have to pay out no questions asked. And of course everyone would know that all luggage on board would not contain explosives etc.