Has any of your stuff been stolen by baggage handlers?

[slackercruster]

In June had a $24 bottle of maple syrup stolen from checked luggage. Flew to L.A. yesterday and a $125 custom first aid kit in a Pelican box was stolen.

I think it is the guys that x-ray the checked luggage. (TSA?) They would not find it otherwise, both were buried deep inside for padding protection.

Have you lost anything to thieving baggage handlers?

Any suggestions on how to avoid it? Could not hand carry first aid, had sharps, liquids, etc.

 

[Tigerman]

Ive never had anything missing from my checked luggage, but I also always keep it locked...

 

[live_2_dive]

Wow that sucks where were you flying to/from? I've never had anything stolen out of my baggage either


-------------------------------------------
PADI Rescue/DM 09100Z7445
Dr Dive/Wet Dream/Sea Cobra/Y-Knot

Diving is my passion...I live to dive!

 

[Wookie]

Used to be in Miami that if you had a dive bag with logo on it it was guaranteed to be stolen in the airport.

 

[Tigerman]

Reminds me...
I just use a standard hard-shell suitcase with nothing identifying it as dive gear, for two reasons;
I dont wanna give the airlines an excuse to charge extra for "special luggage" and
I dont like to advertise that my bags might actually be WORTH stealing..

 

[Doubler]

Nothing stolen but they did f-up the threads on my Ikelite Housing Sync Cable Bulkhead. They apparently unscrewed and removed the protective cover then proceded to drop the rear bulkhead. I was really, really pissed when I got to Truk and the wife was going to be cameraless. I've also had them drop my Macbook while "playing" at security.

I hate to admit it but the youngest son is a baggage checker for TSA. I asked him why someone would take apart something they know nothing about and he told me that is how they learn what items are as they don't have examples of everything.

 

[slackercruster]

Wow that sucks where were you flying to/from? I've never had anything stolen out of my baggage either


-------------------------------------------
PADI Rescue/DM 09100Z7445
Dr Dive/Wet Dream/Sea Cobra/Y-Knot

Diving is my passion...I live to dive!

Pitts to St Martin and to LAX

You guys must be lucky or I'm just unlucky. 2 trips and both times got hit. I took the first aid kit on many trips and never had a problem. Did have a dive sticker on it. But it is a small pelican case, maybe 10 x 12 or so. It was not some giant case full of regs.

Would really suck if someone lost a rebreather to thieves.

 

[agilis]

Yes.

I have also had some bad experiences that were not theft, but had the same result. Most recently, this past March at Newark Airport, my suitcase came down the chute partially unzipped with contents stuffed into it in a jumble. Some items were missing, but very possibly fell out at some point because the miserable punk inspector left it open. Naturally, he/she did the damage in a hidden secure room, out of sight, operating in the dark, as it were, like most degenerate cowardly swine. The airlines said they were not responsible: "The inspectors are often rushed and don't have time to be careful. Anyway, it's Homeland Security, not our airline". They gave me a form to send to the government.

 

[chauncy19]

Did lose a "cheap" dive watch going through Newark. Flight was delayed and admit I should not of put it in my checked bag, but then it shouldn't of been stolen either. flight was delayed for 12 hours or so. needless to say I would never leave anything that could easily be stolen in my check luggage again.

 

[Wookie]

Pitts to St Martin and to LAX

You guys must be lucky or I'm just unlucky. 2 trips and both times got hit. I took the first aid kit on many trips and never had a problem. Did have a dive sticker on it. But it is a small pelican case, maybe 10 x 12 or so. It was not some giant case full of regs.

Would really suck if someone lost a rebreather to thieves.

Well, there is a thread on RebreatherWorld about a visitor to the United States from Ireland, I think who checked their JJ rebreather through Kennedy on their way through Cave Country. The airline had it tracked getting on the plane in Ireland, but somehow it never arrived in New York. Fell off the plane mid-atlantic, I guess.