Naturally, when we pick up our baggage after a flight, we expect all of our items to be accounted for. What we don’t expect is to physically see, with our own eyes, a baggage handler ever so graciously opening up luggage and pocketing items.
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On Friday morning, one passenger aboard a airlines/pilot-strike-prompts-hundreds-of-ryanair-flight-cancellations.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow”>Ryanair flight from Ibiza to Madrid happened to see just that—and she caught it all on video. In the video below, you can see a baggage handler opening a passenger’s suitcase and pocketing a speaker.
The unnamed employee can be seen attempting to discreetly unzip a piece of luggage on a trolley, but eventually just gets annoying with it not being as easy as he anticipated. He then decides to just downright flip the suitcase over, unzip it, and take the speaker for anyone to see.
According to Fox News, the baggage handler had just started the job three days before the incident.
The cops were able to get the man to confess before returning the stolen speaker back to its owner, who was very grateful as it was a gift the woman had purchased for her son’s birthday.
Since the safety of your belongings can’t be guaranteed, it’s smart to take a few extra precautions to ensure all of your items are returned to you at the end of your flight.
From locks being completely cut off during searches to master keys being available to the public, there’s been a lot of mixed feelings surrounding TSA approved locks. However, a lock is better than no lock. If you’d prefer not to go that route, secure your luggage with a zip tie.
Keep your eyes on your bag as much as possible. That’s not exactly an option with your checked luggage, but pack the important things that TSA will allow into your carry-on, and make sure you place it where you can see it at all times.
In addition, you can also invest in tamper proof luggage, purchase travel insurance or just leave your valuables at home. Any of these options should serve to put your mind a bit more at ease and make for a slightly less stressful trip.
