The airlines and TSA are fighting an ongoing battle against theft from checked luggage. The installation of more and more automated baggage handling systems has reduced theft. However, until human contact is eliminated, the problem probably won’t be exorcised.
A search through newspaper stories published over the past few years shows that problems with luggage theft are widespread even as many of the airlines are raising fees on luggage handling.
It’s not enough that we have to deal with poor customer service, a Byzantine ticketing fare structure, delays, de-humanizing security protocols and inane inflight entertainment, now we have to ponder what might be stolen from our luggage.
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution published an article about luggage theft. It seems that Atlanta Hartsfield Airport is the top place for luggage theft in the U.S.A.
Video cameras are being installed and monitoring has been stepped up. According to reports Delta has been vigilant in their efforts to stem the tide of luggage thefts.
● In February, officials in Portland, Ore., arrested two baggage handlers employed by Delta merger partner Northwest Airlines after a two-week investigation. Police recovered about 200 items believed to be stolen, including laptops, jewelry and handbags.
● In March, officials announced arrests of several baggage handlers working for Delta and subsidiary Delta Global Services at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn.
● Later that month, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport police said they uncovered a theft ring involving baggage handlers working for Delta contractor Huntleigh USA. Police arrested eight suspects and recovered nearly 900 items.
● And in July, officials said they arrested a baggage handler for a Delta contractor and a TSA officer who worked at John F. Kennedy International Airport for theft. The suspects switched luggage tags to direct bags to a different destination and conceal the theft.
Delta is not alone. The TSA has plenty of problems with theft. In Miami an organized ring of thieves was broken.
Sources say six TSA employees, two men and four women, were fired weeks ago for running the organized operation. One returned 31 passenger items, including an iPod, another brought back 25 stolen items, including jewelry and a camera after both were discovered.
Now detectives are trying to find more suspects while finding the rightful owners of the items, which include expensive watches, jewelry, cameras and other goods. They’ll be prosecuted once the victims identify their belongings.
Dulles Airport as it opened its now security screening facility last month was also dealing with a situation where the very agents who are screening passengers were “stealing items from passengers’ checked luggage.”
Plus, there are reports of increases in thefts from baggage carousels when luggage is delivered to the final destination. It seems that airlines that once checked luggage tags decided that it wasn’t worth the cost.
The bottom line: traveler beware. Don’t pack any valuables in your checked baggage.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
