Airport suitcase theft

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Fat Daddy

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Location
Sarasota
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Hi,

Traveling to Bonaire on the 1st of June for 12 days. Was wondering if suitcase theft at the airport is a problem to worry about. My bad is a zipper bag so even if I lock it it's easy to break into. My computer and regulators will be on the carry on but I'm getting a Scubapro Hydros bcd and will have 2 other decent ones in the bag. A customer of mine had a bunch of stuff taken from his suitcase at the airport a few years ago.

Any thoughts or ideas appreciated.

Jason
 
I have never heard of it. Where was your customer's suitcase at the time? "At the airport" isn't very specific. It surely cannot be a common occurrence.

I can't imagine a bag that is in the baggage claim/check area or otherwise under the care of the airport staff is a likely target of theft. Almost EVERY suitcase has dive gear in it. I can't imagine the ground crew is interested in trying to fence scuba gear on some sort of Bonaire black market.

A bag left unattended in the check-in area could become a target, sure, but who would leave an unattended bag anywhere in the world these days?

Now, LOST bags are another story.
 
Puerto Rico, Atlanta, and Miami are major hubs that theft from bags occurs commonly. I'm sure it happens elsewhere too. Puerto Rico apparently is the most notorious. I remember years ago we flew into PR to take a cruise to the lower caribean. There was a couple travelling as well and when they got their bags the engagement ring the guy was hiding in his checked bag (which is the worst place to hide it) was missing. The crew on the cruise ship commented about how common theft from the bags was.
I'm sure it happens, but isn't super common. I always put a tsa approved lock on our sipper bags, but you can buy the tsa key that opens them very easily.
 
You can't make your suitcase theft proof, and you can't put everything in you carry-on. You're just playing the odds no matter what. The only thing you can do is shift the odds a little, mostly by doing the obvious. Of course, don't put anything small and valuable in the bag (like a wedding ring).

Large conspiracies to open/search/steal your stuff are rare. Usually it is one or two bad actors that have to conceal their crimes from coworkers, security people and cameras. Most importantly, they don't have time to waste, only a few seconds, so anything that looks like it will slow them down is good. Make it time consuming to open. Extra straps and locks? Plastic wrap services? The TSA locks are easily opened, but still takes a few precious moments.

The reason they do the pen/zipper trick is to hide the invasion. You can demotivate the thief by making their break-in less easily concealed. Get a larger TSA lock with a 2" cable. Use it to lock the zippers to something else, like the handle, so they cannot move. They can still poke open half the zipper with the pen, but then can't zip-close it afterward. They don't want an open suitcase flopping around open and drawing attention, so they'll choose a different target.

The only other deterrent I have done is to permanently attach a second lockbox to the inside of my suitcase, and use a non-TSA lock on it. I use small hard plastic pelican case, since they are not quick to break open, but also look transparent to TSA x-ray.

I have some valuable items that cannot be in carry on. I even fear that TSA might remove my 'cool looking' property during a valid inspection, and damage it. I've gone as far as drilling holes into the pelican case, and locking my property to one side of the case with a large rubber coated shackle lock. They can open and inspect, but can't pickup and play.
 
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Travel-S...MI7Oall7-b4gIVLf7jBx2xyQ9eEAQYAyABEgKZDPD_BwE

This is the cable style lock I use. I arrange the zippers at the top of my bag. I have the lower loop on the zipper and the upper loop goes onto my upper grab handle. As mentioned they could technically still pop open my bag but they won’t be able to zip it shut. Which would draw major attention. So they “should” just move onto the next bag that is easier to break into and conceal still. I’ve been using these locks now for many years including multiple trips leaving from miami(I live in south florida) and multiple trips to and from PR. I cruise from there often (leaving again in sep)
 
He had his computer and regs stolen by a baggage handler. It was this video that got me thinking about it.


Hard case is the way to go....but it adds lots of weight. I just carry my regs/computers onboard and hope for the best on the checked stuff.
 
He had his computer and regs stolen by a baggage handler.

How did he know it happened at the Bonaire airport and not wherever he was flying from/to?

I understand theft from baggage happens, but since this story was specific to Bonaire, I was hoping the comments would be specific to Bonaire.
 
Not heard of it in Bonaire, but Miami, yes. We're heading to Bonaire Saturday and have to fly through Miami. Fingers crossed. Reg, computer and prescription mask and a few clothes items will be in carry-on.

Rob
 
Last year when we visited Bonaire, we were supposed to fly from St. Louis to Atlanta and into Bonaire. After Delta made a major screw up, we flew from St. Louis to Atlanta to Miami to Aruba then onto Bonaire(tip:do not book a Sunday flight into Bonaire. If something gets messed up, the next flights are few and far between). Our bags were 3 days late in catching up with us. When my friend opened her bags, all of her shoes and clothes were gone. Scuba gear untouched. The airlines did end up compensating her for her loss, but it was a huge damper on our vacation. We will never know where the items were absconded, but theft is a major problem at US airports as well. I am glad that I always pack a the necessities in a carry on. I guess the thieves didn't like my clothing enough to steal my flip flops or Breaking Bad T shirt.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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