Just when you thought being a passenger couldn't get any worse.

[Loose rivets]

Just popped up on the wife's laptop...Phoenix AZ couple have been walking into an airport and simply walking off with items of luggage. Nothing new there, but when they were followed, it led to finding hundreds of items of baggage in their home. 'Stacked to the ceiling' in some rooms.

It seemed that they had 'More than usual number of Yard Sales.'

[sb_sfo]

No positive baggage claim match? PHX oughta be looking at hiring some minimum wage "security". :ugh:I wonder which carrier(s) they came from?

<edit> Apparently Sky Harbor will be "reviewing" procedures. See the link for some wonderful mug shots...

Sky Harbor to Review Baggage-Handling Procedures After More Than 1,000 Bags Were Stolen by Two People - Phoenix News - Valley Fever (http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/11/sky_harbor_to_review_baggage_h.php)

[Avman]

I have always thought just how easy this would be in the USA. They need to channel arriving passengers to the baggage claim areas in such a way that it's not accessible to the general public.

[Businesstraveller]

Thats terrible! At least that couldnt happen at any major UK airport. Oh, hang on - it does - Edinburgh! No wonder everyone is keen to get to to carousels 4/5 PDQ before any phantom bag snatchers strike.

[bealine]

Not only has this happened at various US airports over the years (as most of them afford access to the baggage belt from the street) but it happened at Gatwick on a few occasions too (and I'm sure other UK airports have been duped.)

What happened at Gatwick was that someone would appear at the Customer Service desk in Arrivals and say they left their baggage in the reclaim hall and ask to be escorted in. Naively, the customer service person would escort them into the baggage hall where they would load half a dozen bags on to a trolley and make off into the sunset.

It is now a requirement that the Boarding Pass from the inward flight, the Baggage Claim receipts or a Lost Baggage Report are produced before anyone is escorted back into the Baggage Hall at any UK airport.

[HXdave]

i can just imagine my luck if i did this. i would pick up the only 3 bags out of the 200 or so on the carousel that all contained heroin, cocaine or other 'illeagal substances'...............

[Neptunus Rex]

It is not unknown for Domestic Helpers (Amahs) going on home leave from Hong Kong to exit their arrival airport with several more bags than they started with.

Don't hang about in arrival Duty Free!

:suspect::suspect::suspect:

[rgsaero]

Said Business teaveller: "Thats terrible! At least that couldn't happen at any major UK airport."

Really? How often if ever, have you had the baggage on YOUR trolley checked against any baggage stubs when leaving LHR or LGW???? I NEVER have during 41 years of shoert and long-haul travel through those airports! (I have been checked frequently at airports elsewhere in the world - usually outside Europe.)

So I could have picked up anyone's bag and walked out of the exit with it. That happens not irregularly in UK due to people picking up the wrong bag. But with cheap fares on our european commuter carriers - a few quid for a short flight - it might be well worth while for a villain to pick up someone else's bag! You'll never be challenged to prove it's yours.

I now stencil my name and phone number on all sides of every bag so that no-one could claim "mistake" if challenged.

[racedo]

At least that couldnt happen at any major UK airport.

Absolutely as baggage handlers get first dibs on the good stuff.

Anyone wants to nick my bags is free to do so but who can they wash and iron the clothes before returning them:)

[Businesstraveller]

Rgraero - I think you maybe didn't make it to the second sentence in my post, as I was clearly being sarcastic. ;)

I can't count the number of times I've seen folks pick a bag off the carousel, look a bit suprised and then pop it back on. I guess that's why I ensure small/valuable items are in my hand luggage.

[rgsaero]

Er - yes - Businesstraveller! I did get there but missed the sarcasm!

Still, it's amazing that more bags don't get nicked from carousels really. I thought I'd lost one at Narita in 1983 - actually it was my large handluggage which was lifted as I was retrieving my checked bag, but I noticed within seconds, shouted and hollered (Japanese get upset by that) and it was found minutes later near an exit. Phew!!!

I still wonder why people buy expensive bags which are produced in tens of thousands, fail to mark them properly and then spend time having to check dozens of bags on the conveyor to see if it's "theirs"!

I much prefer very clear marking of bags - and moreover a check at the exit of the checked tag held by the traveller against the bag. Happens in India, New Zealand, Mexico and all sorts of other places.....

That's also the reason why I can be found adjacent to the hole from which the bags first appear..... First shot at them!

[deltayankee]

Phoenix Sky Harbor is especially vulnerable to this because the carousels are just a few steps from the street exits. You can just pop in, pick up a bag and be out again in seconds. But the last couple of times I was there I was asked to produce the luggage tags by a security person.

Always be quick off the plane. Always wait at the hole where the bags come out and carry everything on board if you possibly can.