CASE STUDY
The extremely popular luggage accessory that increases the chance of your suitcase getting lost at the airport
And the steps you can take to avoid losing your luggage at airports
A BAGGAGE handler has warned holidaymakers that tying a ribbon around their suitcase could increase the chances of their luggage going missing.
Plane passengers will frequently tie colourful adornments to their cases, so that they can be more easily identified at baggage reclaim.
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However, doing this could vastly increase the chances of it not turning up at all, according to an airport staff member.
A man called John, who works as a baggage handler at Dublin Airport, explained that the ribbons could interfere with scanners that are crucial to the bag making it to the right plane.
If this happens, the chances of luggage going AWOL are significantly increased.
He told : “Ribbons that people tie onto their suitcases to help identify them can cause issues with the bag being scanned in the baggage hall.
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“If the bag can’t be scanned automatically it can end up in manual processing, which could mean your bag doesn’t make it to the flight."
Ribbons aren't the only items that can cause problems with the scanners either, with old stickers from previous flights also a likely source of issues.
John continued: "Take old stickers off the bag, it can cause confusion with the scanning process."
This confusion could arise from the scanners not knowing which of the stickers on the suitcase it needs to be scanning.
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If it picks the wrong barcode, the luggage could very easily be sent to the wrong plane, or elsewhere in the airport.
This was previously explained by a baggage handler from Ontario International Airport in California, who said in a video on Tiktok that passengers should always remove the stickers after their flights.
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He said: "Let's say you flew American Airlines, and then a month later, you flew with Southwest Airlines.
"There's a little sticker that goes on for American that tells the computer that it should go to [their flights].
"If your month-old American sticker is on there, there's a chance it scans it instead of the Southwest one.
"Your bag might end up over there and not get on the plane."
How to not lose your luggage on holiday
There are simple steps passengers can take to avoid their luggage going missing.
Firstly, booking a direct flight will reduce the chances for a bag to go missing.
While flights with stopovers might be cheaper, it doubles the chances that a suitcase will be misplaced.
recommends dodging the cheaper flights and forking out for the direct ones, to make sure you don't lose your luggage.
They wrote: "Stopping off during your journey – especially at busy periods like Christmas – massively increases the risk of your bags going missing."
Another thing passengers can do is to print off their itinerary and put it in the front pocket of their case.
That way, should airport staff discover the missing luggage, they can find where to send it to, if possible,
You added: "Always stick a paper copy of your itinerary, or at least your personal details, inside your luggage.
"That way if airline staff open your lost case to try and work out who it belongs to, they’ll have the information to hand immediately."
Removing ribbons and stickers from suitcases wasn't John's only bit of luggage advice.
He also recommended leaving marzipan out of suitcases, because of its density.
According to John, scanners can get the sweet food stuff confused for explosives, leading to you getting dragged off your flight.
He added: "Don’t ever pack marzipan in your luggage. It has the same density as some explosives so your bag will be removed and you’ll be called from the plane for a bag search".
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Meanwhile, passengers always make this mistake at airports that makes them board the wrong flight.
And you should never use the departure screens at airports for information.
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