Items stolen from checked baggage.

[Katys Grandad]

Just a thought on this:

This has happened to Peter twice on the same airline with the same device. It's perfectly reasonably assumed by him that they have been stolen by somebody at some point on the journey. The only thing we know for sure is that it has been removed and that, maybe significantly, the accompanying leads have not.

I fly well over 100k miles a year, much of it transatlantic. I often don't have checked bags so all my stuff is in carry-on and I have all the usual electrical devices (phone. iPad, laptop etc..). It's not uncommon for those items to be removed and inspected at security. That usually involves a few standard questions about whether they belong to me, recent repairs and where I bought them, The outcome is always that they have a look and then they're handed back to me and all's well.

It's a very different scenario when electrical items are identified in checked bags. I would imagine that the vast majority of bags don't have them inside and, when they are seen, they're probably frequently inspected. Without the owner present, they can't ask questions so if there's any doubt whatsoever, such as whether it had been placed in an unlocked bag by somebody other than the owner, they would almost certainly (and probably rightly) remove it.

As I said above, it might be significant that the lead isn't removed because, if they were in the same bag/box, I would think it was likely that a thief would take both because the risk of detection (the key factor for a thief) is the same. I think a security agent would see the leads as not presenting a risk so would leave them in the bag,

I can't definitively support this theory but it doesn't seem far-fetched when I think about it.

No consolation to Peter of course and you would hope that a note would be left if items were legitimately removed but I wonder if this really is a case of theft.

[Gerry Reed]

Interesting thought.

Sue

[Lyn]

Your bags are checked before they are put on the plane. Surely if they actually remove something from your case they should at least leave an explanation as to why it was removed, at best they could call for the owner for questioning.

[Katys Grandad]

Your bags are checked before they are put on the plane. Surely if they actually remove something from your case they should at least leave an explanation as to why it was removed, at best they could call for the owner for questioning.

I agree about leaving a note but I suspect it's by no means always done. I stress that I'm only speculating about this but I do think it's a plausible explanation for what happened.

My overall impression about the security process is that they have an awful lot to do in a very limited time and that the requirements of safety are always paramount and it might not be practical to contact the owner of the bag. To be honest, I don't think they regard leaving notes as the most important part of their job, which might be fair enough although it must be very annoying for those affected.

[Snapper]

It's a very different scenario when electrical items are identified in checked bags. I would imagine that the vast majority of bags don't have them inside and, when they are seen, they're probably frequently inspected. Without the owner present, they can't ask questions so if there's any doubt whatsoever, such as whether it had been placed in an unlocked bag by somebody other than the owner, they would almost certainly (and probably rightly) remove it.

I can follow your thinking on this KG, and I too am only speculating ... but if a piece of luggage were found to contain something deemed worth of removing, I think the security people would either remove the whole bag, or remove the whole bag and the accompanying passenger.

Security can swab an item or bag and test for explosives and drugs in about a minute. If they get a negative they can let the bag and contents fly.

I think the simple explanation here is going to be the right one. Deep in the dark recesses of baggage handling, a bag goes through an x-ray machine, the operator(s) notice something valuable in the bag, and in they go. Job done in a few seconds.

[syrup]

As most people say it is all speculation. The best answer is that anything of value that can fit in your hand luggage should be placed there, even if it means taking aboard the largest bag you can.

[Katys Grandad]

As most people say it is all speculation. The best answer is that anything of value that can fit in your hand luggage should be placed there, even if it means taking aboard the largest bag you can.

Indeed Keith. It keeps me occupied on a cold wet January day though,

[steph_goodrum]

Indeed Keith. It keeps me occupied on a cold wet January day though,

It's actually sunny and quite warm down here in kent for a change

[steph_goodrum]

I know where they're all going just watching a programme on Quest called Baggage Battles where they are auctioning off "lost" luggage.

[Jill]

I agree about leaving a note but I suspect it's by no means always done. I stress that I'm only speculating about this but I do think it's a plausible explanation for what happened.

My overall impression about the security process is that they have an awful lot to do in a very limited time and that the requirements of safety are always paramount and it might not be practical to contact the owner of the bag. To be honest, I don't think they regard leaving notes as the most important part of their job, which might be fair enough although it must be very annoying for those affected.

I think you are correct and they are not overly bothered whether they leave a note in the bag or not. In the past we have certainly had cases we know have been looked through and no note left to say TSA have checked the bag however, we never put anything which might be of 'interest' to someone else in our cases.