– 3 more unwanted luggage problems –
As a former airplane baggage handler I have seen a lot of checked luggage. I noticed that people not always know what is happening to their belongings. With this article I want to educate you about baggage procedures at the airport and in the airplane. In a previous article I discussed various horrible things that could happen to your luggage. Here a three more unwanted situations that could occur.
1. Embarrassing moments with vibrating items
Make sure you remove the batteries from any vibrating items in your luggage. Those items can start to shiver during transport. A vibrating bag or suitcase can make the airport staff suspicious. The situation could occur that you will be asked to come down from the airplane, and then you have to open up your bag.
Most likely you will have to give a presentation of your belongings, openly on the platform. As a result the passengers in the airplane and the airport staff will watch when you dig up that “suspicious” item. Not particularly embarrassing when it is just an alarm clock, but of course that is not the only item that can vibrate.
2. Soap and shampoos
Make sure that your packed toiletry items are properly closed, sealed or wrapped in plastic bags. For sure it is not a nice start of your vacation when you open up your baggage and then discover that all your belongings are soaked in shampoo or soap.
3. Fragile items
Lets be honest. Once you checked in your luggage it will be smashed, trown, pushed, cramped and squeezed during the process of transportation. A baggage handler who quickly has to cram more then 100 bags in the cargo hold of a Boeing 737 will not really care about your fragile items.
Everything needs to fit and it needs to fit fast. So a fragile item sticker is often useless. A much better solution is an I love baggage handlers tag on your luggage. Then you have a much bigger chance that your bag is handled with care, because you show love to the person who is struggling to squeeze your over packed luggage inside the cargo hold.
Pack with care
Now you know a little bit more about what could happen to your belongings. Be careful, protective and smart when you are packing your stuff. Good preparations will help to prevent unwanted surprises. And remember: always seal you luggage! Then you have a smaller chance that your belongings will be ruined by items from other people.
Did you ever had any problems with your luggage before or after a flight? What kind of mistakes did you make or what kind of problems occurred?
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I definitely had bug spray leak all over my bag a few weeks ago… not great. I may try an “I love baggage handlers” tag next time.
Ai that is definitely not a nice experience Mags. I hope they treat your bag more gentle the next time, when you attach the “I love baggage handlers” tag. Don’t forget to seal your bag as well. Then you also have a bigger chance of avoiding such problems.