Sometimes it feels like a race. You make it to the airport of your destination,
but your check-in baggage doesn't. So what if there’s a lonely suitcase spinning
on the baggage carousel even after all the travelers have left the airport? Let's figure out what happens to it! However sad it may sound, each unclaimed bag
has a person it belongs to. And right now, this poor owner is most likely
at another airport, complaining about their luggage getting lost on the way. And the abandoned bag you see on the carousel
has either been diverted to the wrong plane, or lost altogether due to some confusion. On the bright side (and we are), it happens
less and less often nowadays, mostly thanks to computers being in charge of sending the
baggage to its destination. Nevertheless, flights keep getting overbooked,
people keep arriving late for their flights or transferred to another flight at the last
minute, and, thus, bags keep getting lost. Then, how do airport employees look for the
lost luggage owners? Well first , when it becomes obvious that
no one is going to claim a bag, the airline tries to find out who it belongs to. In most cases, all they need to do is to look
at the bag tag. By the way, that's the very reason why putting
your name, address, and contact info on your luggage before the flight is a great idea. So, if there’s a bag tag, the airline company
simply contacts the owner and has the bag delivered to this person. But let's say there’s no identifying information
on the suitcase. In this case, the airline keeps the bag at
the terminal where it arrived, and waits for about 5 days for the owner to claim it. If these five days pass, and there’s still
no sign of the owner, it's time for the bag to leave the airport. Each air carrier has a central warehouse,
and that's exactly where the lost suitcase goes. It stays there for around 2 more months. If, even after this time, no one arrives to
pick up the bag, the suitcase and its contents become available for others. And then, there are two options for how things
might unfold: First, the bag and everything inside could
be donated to charity. Second, the airline company holds an auction. In this case, large companies (which are the
main buyers at such auctions) buy tons of unclaimed baggage. Later, they sort through the things inside
these suitcases, with some of them being tossed away as trash, some being donated, and the
rest being sold. There are even unclaimed baggage discount
shopping centers where you can buy stuff from other people's suitcases at really low prices. But in any case, before ending up in a secondhand
shop, your luggage will be waiting for you for quite a long time. So, you'll still have a chance to reunite
with your favorite possessions. And now, let me reveal some more secrets about
what happens with your luggage during that short (or not-so-short) period of time you
travel separately. - Your bag may be handled quite carelessly
by luggage handlers for a legit reason. First of all, the time for loading the baggage
on the plane is super limited. And every minute of delay costs an airline
company hundreds of dollars. That's why, before reaching the conveyer belt,
your bag may be repeatedly thrown around for up to 60 ft. On top of that, baggage handlers usually pack
suitcases as if playing a game of Tetris. They squeeze bags of different sizes and shapes
together so that they form a solid wall of baggage. Better keep that in mind next time you're
considering where exactly you should tuck something fragile in your suitcase. - Airport staff tends to treat two-wheeled
suitcases worse than four-wheeled ones. There’s no logical explanation for this
fact. Probably, being typically more expensive than
bags on two wheels, four-wheeled suitcases aren't thrown or dragged as much during the
process of loading or unloading. - When talking about baggage, most people
tend to forget about things which aren't actual bags, such as strollers, car seats, and the
like. At the same time, these items get transported
along with other luggage, even though they don't have to be bagged. In this case, an airline company simply wraps
a tag around part of an oversized or unusually shaped thing and lets it go with the rest
of the bags. But you should remember that this non-bagged
luggage appears on the carousel last, because if these items get jammed, baggage handlers
can shut the loader off to remove them. - Only a few bags come with their own luggage
tags; in most cases, people have to buy additional tags so that their luggage can be identified
should it get lost. But you should know that if your luggage tag
gets separated from the suitcase during its transportation, baggage handlers won't have
time to reattach it. Instead, the tag will turn into FOD ("foreign
object debris") and will be swept up and thrown into the trash. - There are people who consider a bottom handle
to be a waste and choose suitcases without this addition. Little do they know that the bottom handle
makes it easier for the airport personnel to put suitcases on the bag loader. As a result, bags equipped with bottom handles
receive nicer treatment. SO now you know. - Brand name pieces of luggage are NOT treated
better or more carefully than the rest of the baggage. Airport staff has such limited time to get
bags loaded and unloaded that they pay little to no attention to brands or how expensive
a suitcase is. So, don't hope that your quality piece of
luggage will be respected by the handlers more than other bags. - If you're in the habit of overpacking your
suitcase, making it extremely heavy, keep in mind that heavier bags are usually placed
at the very bottom when they're loaded on the plane. On top of that, baggage handlers confess that
most broken bags usually weigh more than 50 lbs. - One of the most irritating things for a
baggage handler is numerous luggage tags on a bag or suitcase. You can't imagine how many travelers all over
the world fail to remove old tags from their luggage. Some of them believe that all these tags are
a great way to show off where they've been, others are just being lazy. But for a baggage handler, this seemingly
harmless oversight becomes a serious headache. They have to spend the limited time they have
on deciphering which tags are outdated and can be disregarded, and which ones are new. - If you've always assumed that kids' luggage
is protected from random security checks, you might be in for a surprise. Nowadays, with these checks becoming more
and more frequent, even your child's bag can be rifled through. - Also, children's luggage is by no means
handled with more care than that of adults'. And the reason remains unchanged: airport
employees simply don't have enough time to be extra careful with cute bright suitcases
designed like animals or cars. - Most people, while packing their check-in
luggage, try to make sure that all the content is encased properly and will make it to the
destination point in one piece. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. Let's say your bag pops open because you've
overpacked, or an attachable piece on your backpack falls off during transportation. The sad truth is that baggage handlers won't
have time to figure out where the "homeless" item belongs or shove it back into your luggage. As a result, your belongings can get lost
all too easily. - While choosing a new suitcase, you've probably
paid a lot of attention to the extending handle. For many travelers, it's a must-have characteristic
of any new bag. But that doesn't matter to baggage handlers. The majority of them don't even pay attention
to whether a suitcase has this handle or not. The thing is that extending such a handle
takes up precious time, and in most cases, airport staff disregard handles altogether
to speed up the loading process. - While it's away from you, your baggage can
get hurt in too many ways. To name just a few, it can get scratched when
passing through baggage handling machinery after you check your bag in. Then, it might be damaged while undergoing
security screening, being transported to the plane, or getting loaded on the airplane or
unloaded after the flight. The only way to avoid any risk is to buy a
protective luggage cover or wrap your bag in cling film. Or just get a really ugly bag and don’t
worry about it… Hey, if you learned something new today, then
give the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other videos I think you'll
enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stay
on the Bright Side of life!
