In the good old days at Kai Tak an extra 20-30 minutes valuable drinking time airside could be gained by having baggage checked in rather than hand carried on the basis it was quicker for the airline to locate the passenger/s than off load the baggage.
Less pleasant was the practice,at some airports, in the event of any discrepancy, of making the passengers disembark irrespective of weather conditions,and personally identify their checked in baggage which would be lined up on the tarmac.
Needless to say reconcillliation of passenger and baggage presumes that no one will willingly commit suicide for any cause which is no longer the case.
My present concern is the mixture of freight and passengers on the same airline. Necessary for the bottom line of course but an obvious weakness even in the days when suicide terrorists were not as prevalent as today.
When the flight deck says we will be on our way shortly and we are just loading the last of the freight ( usually followed as if on cue by that noisey shudder that says yes, a container has just been on loaded in the hold ) I sometimes get an uneasy feeling for a few seconds (depending on location) as to what has managed to get aboard in those last few minutes as everyone concentrates on getting the aircraft off the stand on time.