How to protect your luggage on your travels
There are events with luggage that happen every day at airports, for example and the most common of the known ones, loss of luggage by the airline, or theft of suitcases, change of suitcases and even cases of alteration of suitcases by strangers and various of them are known; these events can lead to serious problems for you, more than just a hassle or annoyance from baggage delay.
Nobody wants to lose their suitcase and we know that this can cause problems and inconveniences on your trip, and the idea of course is that you have a vacation that you fully enjoy and get to enjoy your villa and the beach and just enjoy and rest, that’s why we want offer you a guide to reduce and minimize any risk of losing your luggage or having problems with your suitcase.
Security tips and recommendations to protect your luggage
Next, we will make recommendations to protect your bags at airports
Your luggage always with you
It is simple and basic advice, wherever you go at the airport, your luggage must go and you must not lose sight of it, if for some reason you must separate from your luggage and leave it with someone, apply something simple, just entrust your suitcases to those who are always there. with you and you have known for a long, long time and you have a very high level of confidence in those people, does it seem like an exaggeration?, but it is not an exaggeration.
In the same way, it never hurts to also take precautions when transporting to the airport when we go to it in third-party vehicles.
Customize your suitcase
As we mentioned before in our travel guide, for any suitcase that is going to be documented and transported in the hold of the plane, it is always recommended that your suitcases be personalized, to avoid confusion and the fact that there are one or more suitcases similar to yours in the same flight (these cases if they happen), always place signs such as a well-tied ribbon or bow or something that is noticeable and does not come off easily so that you can see it without problems and identify your suitcase on the conveyor belt in the baggage area From the airport.
Don’t stick something on your suitcase that can be easily detached, such as a temporary sticker (remember that the surfaces have contact) and do not stick a destination sticker that can confuse the staff in charge of managing the baggage.
Bright colors can be a good choice for a suitcase
Many people when choosing a suitcase tend to choose one in dark colors or even look for it in black, but the more colorful and unique your suitcase can be, the less chance you will not be able to identify it at a glance and track it and that it is be confused.
In the same way, do not trust yourself and personalize it.
Label your bags
Many suitcases nowadays come with a form to label them with your personal contact information inside or, they also come with a label to be attached to one of the handles of the suitcase, it is always advisable to do it.
For hold baggage, use both an external and an internal label.
For cabin luggage, use a tag that you can place in an outside pocket (where there is no lock).
Does a padlock really protect your bag?
You need to understand that a padlock or key locking system on your luggage doesn’t really secure anything, it’s just a way to prevent someone from quickly accessing your belongings and making it appear as if the luggage is “intact” and you don’t detect what happened until it’s too late, but in normal luggage, they won’t really represent security, except of course in specialized designer suitcases.
Put a password that is somewhat difficult to guess
Normally, any suitcase you are going to carry has a lock with a password, but you should not set as a password a simple sequence that will be the first one that anyone would try, such as 0000, 5555 or 1234.
Simple number sequences are the ones that are quickly discarded by someone who wants to open your luggage.
But those won’t be the only vulnerabilities, as in a lockable suitcase, a pen can easily become the entrance.
and in the cases of suitcases with more “robust” systems with a lock system, they practically become “a trunk” and over time it can be opened using a simple piece of paper that is used to find the series of mirrors of the key.
Although the above can help you in the event that a problem occurs and you forget the password, we are showing it to you because you should also assess the real level of protection and what you should take into account depending on the type of luggage you are carrying. you take for your trip.
On the baggage carousel at the airport
As is normal, after going through the migration process at the airport and many people are around the conveyor belt where the flight luggage is unloaded, which can prevent correct visualization a bit, for this reason many airports have implemented over time a waiting protocol in an area from where people can view their luggage without problems to approach and take it without affecting the view of other people, you must also check the drawn line and wait behind it, so you will have a better view.
If for some reason there are people crowding and you cannot see your luggage clearly, it is best to take a distant point where you can see both sides of the band and with a wider image, you can observe in detail making sure that no one is taking your luggage.
Always reference of where the airport officials are in the baggage area
Try to locate the airport officials in the baggage area, there is always one, since in the event that you identify that something abnormal is happening, inform them quickly and thus, the officers can activate the necessary security protocol.
It is normal that the officers may request that you identify your luggage with your personal data, so they will request that you show your passport, which is why it is important to mark the suitcase with the personal data inside, because in the airport hold area , when you directly open your luggage and remove the internal label, it will easily identify that it is yours, which is difficult for someone who wants to appropriate your luggage and pass it off as their own by placing a false label with their data.
If you detect on the baggage belt at the airport your luggage has suffered some alteration, locate an airport official, staff or a policeman and comment on the situation, the video you have made when packing your suitcase (or palletizing it), as we refer to it in our tourist guide, it will take on a lot of relevance, since you will be able to show them and they will serve as evidence.
If your suitcase is expensive, internal GPS is recommended
Remember that a suitcase that can be identified as expensive, can be a sign for unscrupulous people who want to take the opportunity to take your luggage, in the same way if you want to take your luxury luggage, take additional precautions such as incorporating an internal GPS to track uour suitcase.
Integrity of your suitcase
When you pick up your suitcase, inspect it to see that it has no breaks, is damaged or shows signs of having been opened.
If you notice that your suitcase has been tampered with and has been opened, quickly locate an airport official and take your smartphone, start recording before opening it so that there is a record that you can show.
Basic security tips for your bags on your trip
There are aspects that can help the security of your suitcase at airports and we are going to point out several of them so that you do not lose sight of them.
Palletize or pack your suitcases
At airports you can find points with the packaging service, that is, cover your suitcase with a flexible plastic film, known as Stretch Plastic (Stretch Film or Stretch Wrap).
If you want to make this coating for your luggage, for example, to avoid scratching its surface or even to try to place a way to detect if your suitcase has been altered in any way, it is good that you take two precautions
- Never lose sight of the suitcase during the entire process
Once they are done, using a marker, set up signs with your own handwriting or writing in various areas
Make a video or photos where the writing marks you have made are identified
Do not separate from your bag and always keep it in front of you
We are repetitive in this, but it is very important, do not leave it in the care of a stranger and always have your luggage in control, if you are going to buy something and you are alone, avoid placing it to one side, always keep it in front of you.
Mistrust strangers
There is a saying, “we see faces but we do not know hearts”, keep in mind that even within the tactics of thieves is using minors or adults to rob others.
The toilet cabins at airports have enough space to enter with luggage.
Only deliver your hold luggage at the point of the airline
Do not give your suitcase to anyone at the airport, regardless of whether they have an airline uniform, only do it during the check-in process with the baggage register, only in this process will the airline register your luggage, weigh it , they will give you the registration number and identification of your luggage and proceed to take your bags to the hold of the plane
If for some reason the airline does not give you the code of your luggage, you must request it, you can even request to take a photo of your luggage along with the identification number provided by the airline
In the event that you lose your luggage while at the airport
If for some reason you have lost your suitcase you must take into account the following
Clearly identify the place where you have lost it
Check the time this happened, remember, it is the local time of the airport
Inform the official airport staff of what happened
- Do not leave the airport until the airport officials carry out the procedure and you have filled out the necessary documentation for the record and a detailed search of your luggage is carried out.
Does a stranger return your luggage or do you find it elsewhere? Beware!!!
If for some reason you have lost your luggage at the airport and a third party approaches you with it, you should be wary (remember that normal luggage can be easily opened).
There are situations where people have been deceived in bathrooms between groups of people or momentary neglect to take their luggage and then, someone returning it to you can be suspicious, the first thing you will think is that something was stolen from your suitcase, but you should always keep in mind that This could be altered with illegal merchandise that they incorporated into it and then they will want to recover at the destination.
Be suspicious even if you find your suitcase elsewhere.
Remember, even if there appear to be no clear signs that your luggage has been tampered with, the best thing you can do is:
Do not touch or open your suitcase
Request an airport officer or police officer immediately
- When it arrives, use your smartphone to record everything
- Comment on the situation, with the details of the time and place where you think you lost it so that what is happening is reported and they begin to review the surveillance videos of the airport and can follow up on this event, in this way, the authorities will inform so that the plane does not leave you
- Show the videos you previously made of your luggage when packing your belongings.
- In the presence of the officers and through the video (remember that you will be recording, if you go with a group of friends or family, they can record too) proceed to check your luggage, if you see any strange item, do not touch it and let the police take charge of manipulating it.
Add a GPS device to your luggage as an additional protection measure
As we mentioned before, there are currently tracking devices that you can incorporate into your luggage and track them through an App on your smartphone, this is ideal for your hold luggage and especially if you will have stopovers, so it will be a help that you will have on hand in different cases, not only at the airport.
One recommendation is that, while you are in the process at the airport, you place the GPS inside one of the pockets of your clothes.
When you are already enjoying your vacation, take the GPS and place it in one of the pockets of your suitcase or in a place where you can fix it and it is not easily visible.
Remember, never mention that your suitcase has GPS unless you have to do so in a case before the authorities or the airline in the event that your suitcase is lost.
In the event that the airline loses your luggage, for example, that it is mistakenly boarded on another flight, having a GPS in your suitcase will help to quickly identify where it is and the airline will be able to proceed to correct its error quickly, avoiding major inconveniences and Long waiting time.
Of course, if someone tries to steal your hand luggage and it has GPS, you can quickly find it by going to the authorities and tracking it through your smartphone.
There are GPS tracking devices that even have a microphone and will allow you to listen to conversations in case your suitcase is opened. These devices may even have an SOS emergency button that you can use to ask for help in a situation that requires it.
Check the Valerie szybala case, it is not common but, it is a good example
What happens in the boarding process of your suitcase?
It is good to know what happens once you deliver your hold luggage at the airline counter and it is registered and it is good that you know this for different situations that can happen
Once your luggage has been delivered, it is tracked with the barcode that has been assigned by the airline as it passes through the different filters with scanners from the moment it is placed on the conveyor belt until the moment it is boarded on the plane. .
All suitcases will pass through these filters, except for those cases where airport personnel notice something strange in some luggage.
If the airport staff notice something in the baggage, they will take it for additional review using the screening systems that the airport has together with the police, if this happens, but there is nothing unusual, you will be able to see how your bag will have a label attached detailing that it was reviewed again.
In the event that a search occurs for an element that cannot be identified by the police and airport personnel without having to open the luggage, it is the passenger who must do so, so if this happens with your luggage, you will be called for review.
You should keep in mind that they can even perform body inspection through scanners.
- Quick tips to quickly pass through the immigration point at airports
Keep in mind that when you deliver your suitcase to the airline, it passes to their jurisdiction and in the event of any inconvenience they will have to respond, this is another reason why we recommend making a video at the time of packing in our tourist guide.
What to do if when you arrive at your destination your suitcase has been changed?
Although this situation may seem like something “from a movie”, you must understand that it is not, this can happen and in fact, it has happened, a suitcase very similar to yours may even appear that has the identifier that was given to you at the airline, Of course, we are talking about cases where there are people who are part of criminal activities within the airline.
Therefore, what you should do when you go to pick up your suitcase in the baggage area is:
Check the signs of personalization of your suitcase and that your suitcases are as you have previously established.
- Verify that the identification number with which the airline tagged your luggage is the same.
- If you identify any type of alteration, remain calm, do not open the suitcase, go first to the airport police to inform, and being in the presence of an officer (you must identify him by name and tell him that you will record a video for security and have evidence) and proceeds to record everything.
- Remember the videos that you previously recorded of your suitcase, they will help you to provide evidence of what you carried in your suitcase and how you packed it, that is, in the state it was in before traveling, so it is important that you do not open the suitcase following your first impulse
- The airline has to respond to any alteration of your luggage, so it is normal for them to be involved in the process once you have reported the situation to the police authorities.
- In these cases, you have the right to request the security recordings of the airport where you boarded before any attempt to change your suitcase, all you need to do is remember a bit of the routine of what you did at the airport between the time you arrived and boarded the plane and with this they will proceed to do the verifications quickly.
When the airline “loses” your luggage
As we mentioned before, there are cases where due to some type of error, our suitcase is mistakenly embarked on another flight, for this type of case after reporting this to the airline (remember to record the claim process) they will offer you to take your suitcase to your destination once it is located or send it to your residence.
You should check the respective conditions in this type of case on the page of your airline, as well as the laws that must be complied with in this type of case, it is always good to be informed a little about it.
Some aviation companies in this type of case offer the possibility of checking the status of the search for your luggage through their Internet page, so it is worth checking if this is possible.
We hope that these tips to protect your luggage will help you to have a tourist trip to one of our luxury villas without worries.