Locking luggage on flights in europe

You can put nylon ties on,, but they can and will be cut off if customs wants to go through your bag. You can also use a lock,, but unless its one of those universal ones that can be opened by customs,, they will cut it off if they want to open your bag,, I guess its the same everywhere. I use nylon ties myself( and have even used those wire twist ties) ,, I figure most baggage crooks are just looking for the easiest bag to open quickly( and I figure most of them are baggage handlers) so just making my bag seem less easy means they move on to the next one,, they usually only have a few minutes to ransack your bag. I have never had my bag robbed,, but then there is nothing worth taking from my bags, as I always carry any item of value in my carry on,, period.. clothes are always replaceable.

Unless your CDG/BCN flight is on a discount carrier (Ryanair, EasyJet, etc) with a separate ticket you should be able to check your bags all the way through and not pick them up until you get to BCN.

We always use nylon cable ties. Cheap and easy. If you use locks they will be cut off if necessary. The TSA approved locks are only good in the US but some claim that the European security have keys for these locks. But someone recently posted that everyone of his TSA had been removed from his bags.

neil, If you decide to use Nylon Cable Ties, keep in mind that you'll need a way to remove them. Your knives or scissors will be inside the luggage, so you'll have to use a small Nail Clipper or something? Cheers!

Good point, Ken. My suitcases all have pockets of some kind. I slip nail scissors into one of the pockets.

Jeff from Bend makes a good point. Will you have access to your luggage once in Europe? Once checked in at JFK, you most likely will not see them again until BCN. An easy solution would be not to put anything of value in your luggage. That way, if it is opened, the thieves would quickly move on unless they take a liking to your knickers. They have to work quickly.
Another solution would be to carry-on. Not always possible, but if you can pull it off, it will make life so much easier. Sometimes I relent with direct flights in the US, but on international flights and non-directs, carry-on is the way to go (in my opinion).

I usually carry on what I can but sometimes am forced to check a bag (especially with goodies on the way home). In the past couple of years, I have been on at least a dozen European flights including major and budget carriers and planes of all sizes. On each flight I have had to check a bag and have secured it with a TSA lock. Maybe I have been lucky, but not once has it been cut off. Funny thing is - if I take my locked bag to Hawaii, it's opened or cut off on every flight home...

I bought a rather pricey TSA-approved lock in 2002 (I think it was). Either the TSA cut it off and rendered it unusable, or they used their special key but failed to put it back on. Either way, I never saw that lock again. Since then, I've used the green plastic flight locks that Rick sells. You don't need a pair of scissors or a blowtorch to get them off, and if the TSA removes one, you've only lost about 42 cents. I've never had one removed, however, and no other problems with them. That being said, I do take along an ordinary combination lock to lock my bag during the day when it's in the hotel (the green plastic ones are not reusable). Sure someone could still get into my bag if they really wanted to, but I figure it's at least something of a deterrent.

I have used my TSA locks on inter-European flights without any problems. Just because there is nothing valuable in your bags does not mean nothing will be stolen. One time I did not use my TSA locks on a direct nonstop flight to from CLE to LAX and when I arrived in LA I learned that my shorts and underwear had been stolen from my checked bag. Curious to say the least.