Theft from Checked Baggage

Well, with security checks mandatory these days, you can't keep your checked baggage 100% secure, and there is always the chance of a bad guy in the mix somewhere who swipes something of value. The occasional case always makes the news, but I would still guess it's an uncommon experience. ( I had an alarm clock and some cigarettes stolen from a checked bag in Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia, but that was way back in the "Wild, Wild East" days right after the fall of communism. ) The best plan is to travel as light as possible ---for example, I recommend everyone leaves the jewelry at home --- and keep anything you can't afford to lose on you at all times.

Matt, thanks. Right, human nature is pretty consistent in this regard. I guess a more specific version of my question would be: Does anyone know if the TSA or any of the airlines have established any rule one way or the other about this in terms of an official recourse that can be made, or is it definitely just a normal risk that one has to run?

I think about the only option is to file a report with the airline itself (whoever you checked the bag with). There are some limitations as you have to file within a certain period of time and I've heard of people being asked to provide proof (e.g. receipts) of value. To be honest, I doubt you will recover anything. But it is at least worth reporting in the hope that if there is a pattern of this, they might someday identify the culprits. I've only had something stolen from a bag once. It was an Alitalia flight from London to Cairo via Rome. My bag did not arrive and I had to fill out a missing bag claim and a customs form. The next day, it was delivered to my hotel in Cairo, but my hairdryer was missing. I initially thought that I'd forgotten to pack it, but when I returned to my flat in London it was not there either. As the bag was handled by so many different parties (the airline, customs in Egypt, the hotel), I didn't even bother to file a claim, but had it been a more valuable item I would have. Just out of curiousity, what was the airline and route?

It was an American flight from Florida to Rome, with stops in Chicago and Heathrow. Don't even get me started on the airline or the itinerary. All they stole was a half-used bottle of cologne. Weird. (As I said, it was not something of much value.) Meanwhile, there was a brand-new, somewhat expensive electronic device that they left untouched. Again, thank God! Once I flew Delta/Air France from somewhere in the States to Rome, via Charles de Gaulle (one of the worst airports ever). Of course I missed my connection in CDG and in true form they didn't get my bag on the new flight. Three or four days later when the Alitalia folk from Fiumicino delivered it to me, I was pleased to see that they had put one of those plastic twist-ties through the padlock holes on the zipper. I presume this was a security measure to deter theft by the delivery person. When I opened that (large) suitcase, everything was in it just as I had packed it, so there hadn't been any theft earlier in the transport chain either.

Hmmm ... we both went through LHR and FCO. Of course, my theft was 12 years ago. Maybe some baggage handler in London or Rome has been supplying a local salon with toiletries and hair dryers for years :) Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal a couple of years ago. online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703581204574599953475913542.html

LOL I did think about getting TSA locks, in case the theft happened after the bag screening stage (e.g. by the plane-loaders, as the article cites).

I wonder if taking a picture of one's packed luggage helps us make claims for stolen items. I wonder if every piece of luggage is searched or just every few pieces.
I also wonder if the search should happen in front of us, when we check our bag. I know it would lengthen the time spent in line, but if we have to take a chance every time I check a bag, it might be worth it. Like I think it is worth it going thru security, just to make sure we are flying as safe as possible. I really do not mind taking my shoes off and getting my body and bag scanned if that means that I am boarding a plane free of some type of illegal explosive device on another person.

I think sometimes they don,t get everything packed back into the suitcase correctly. It's not always theft. We can't imagine what anyone would have wanted with my husband's beat up old sweaters he was taking from JFK to Iceland in June. I think it was just sloppiness.

Don't put anything in checked luggage that you can't do without. Put anything you absolutely need into your carryon.
Medicines, electronics, etc. A bunch of TSA "agents" were recently arrested for stealing valuables out of checked luggage belonging to folks headed home from Hawaii. Certainly is not good for our campaign to attract tourist. I fly a lot and have used TSA locks on my checked luggage and have seldom had them opened. I do not think I have had anything turn up missing. Thank goodness.

Sometimes we have to just accept that there are things beyond our control. I think this is one of them. Do what you can: take anything of value, or anything you would be heartbroken to lose, in your carry on. Put a TSA lock and a zip-tie on your checked bag. Hope for the best. If something gets pinched, file a claim & complaint with the airline. Then let it go. It does happen, more frequently than most of us would probably guess, and the odds of getting anything back besides an apology are virtually zero. AFAIK, there's nothing you can do besides what's been mentioned above.

Kelly said "I wonder if every piece of luggage is searched or just every few pieces." I don't think many bags are opened and searched. If TSA or some other U.S. agency searches your luggage, they are supposed to leave a notice in your bag that it was searched. I've had notices left in my bag on flights from Hawaii (agriculture) and several international flights.

Always use a TSA lock on checked baggage. File a claim with the DELIVERING carrier for any lost items.

Always use a TSA lock on checked baggage. File a claim with the DELIVERING carrier for any lost items.

Being a half-used bottle of cologne, perhaps it got flipped out and broken. Or could you have left it in the bathroom in your last hotel? I just carry anything I wouldn't want to lose in my carryon bag.

TSA locks are of no value beyond the US. There have many reports here and elsewhere about TSA locks being cut off in Europe. Truthfully, I think they are a waste of money even in the US. Use plastic cable ties. Cheap, easy, and just as effective. Some how I don't think a half bottle of anything was stolen.

Regarding Kelly's question: "I wonder if taking a picture of one's packed luggage helps us make claims for stolen items." Seems to me that a photo would do absolutely nothing as anyone could snap a photo of a packed bag containing something "valuable" (i.e., a gold necklace, a laptop or iPad, etc) and then claim it was "stolen". If all that was taken was half a bottle of used cologne and an expensive item was left intact inside the bag, it definitely sounds less like a theft and more like someone unpacking the bag at the airport to screen it and simply forgetting to put the cologne back in, or accidentally sticking it inside another suitcase that may have also been getting screened nearby. Are you hoping for recourse on the bottle of used cologne? It's unlikely you will ever get anything from the airline for that. Think of this minor loss as a lesson to not stick anything in checked bags that you can't bear the thought of having it stolen, broken or lost by the airlines.

Theft from checked baggage can happen, and does happen. You should never check anything irreplaceable or of high value (and certainly nothing fragile), period. If it does happen to you, the place to start is with the airline you flew with.
One way to prevent this for domestic travel is to use a lockable hard-sided suitcase and pack a starter pistol. They can be had for $25 online (they are used for training dogs, so you have a legit reason without looking like a crazy person) and have to declare the weapon. When you do, your luggage goes under lock and key and remains closed until you pick it up... which means zero chance of stolen items. I wouldn't try this trick without doing your homework first. :)

Also, please note that the terms of carriage that most airlines have exclude liability for anything valuable. For example, AA's limitations can be found here: http://www.aa.com/i18n/customerService/customerCommitment/conditionsOfCarriage.jsp#BagLiability
If you and subsequently have stolen any antiques, artifacts, artwork, books and documents, china, computers and other electronic equipment, computer software, fragile items (including child/infant restraint devices such as strollers and car seats), eyeglasses, prescription sunglasses, non-prescription sunglasses and all other eyewear and eye/vision devices whether lenses are glass, plastic, or some other material, furs, heirlooms, keys, liquids, medicines, money, orthotics, surgical supports, perishable items, photographic, video and optical equipment, precious metals, stones or jewelry, securities and negotiable papers, silverware, samples, unique or irreplaceable items or any other similar valuable items, then you are out of luck. They accept zero liability for any of those items. All airlines have similar clauses in the contract of carriage that you agree to.

Nicholas: thank you! This answers my question.

No problem. :)

American says on their website "Items in checked baggage are limited to a total of no more than 70 ounces per passenger. Contents of each container may not exceed 16 fluid ounces". Is that a possibilitywith your checked items? I recall that Continental had a very embarassing incident with their baggage handlers in Houston going through luggage a few years ago.
See this article from Travel and Leisure: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/how-to-avoid-luggage-theft

Melissa, No, it was like a 2 ounce bottle of cologne. Notwithstanding Frank's near-certainty above that nothing was stolen :P , I remain fairly certain, based on the way that I packed it and how things were left, that it was stolen. In any case, like I said, it wasn't anything of great value. My question was about airline policies, and Nicholas gave me the lead I was looking for. Thanks again to all!

Do you know if your bag was searched by the TSA. Perhaps it just got left out. I ask this because I had a bag that was searched by the TSA and something was added! It was not your cologne, so I can't clear up that mystery.

Bryan, We rarely check bags, but if we do, we use those small electrical wire/cable ties. We could then tell when we got our bags back by the missing ties, that the bags had been opened. We then would check them carefully. If they come off the turnstyle and are the ties are intact, no worries. Also, maybe the bag checker had some b.o. that day, or just liked the smell?

Sometimes the strangest things get taken. The possibility of theft is one of the reasons I carry on. On the way home from Ireland, I checked my bag since it only contained dirty clothes. An umbrella was taken. I still haven't understood why.

Theft From Left Luggage Uxbridge Gazette (UK) - 19 Sept 2012 Airport Theft Charges Seven Heathrow employees have been accused of of stealing from the excess baggage department at Terminal 5 (solely occupied by British Airways). R... S..., 28, of Raywood Close; R... W..., 37, of Langley Crescent; and A... K..., 28 of Richards Close; all from Hayes, each face two charges of theft, and two of false accounting; the latter with M... K..., 29, of Pinglestone Close, Harmondsworth. L... T..., 31, of Forge Close, Harlington; S... M... F..., 34, of Ivanhoe Road, Hounslow; and A... K..., 28, of Richards Close, Hayes; face one charge for each offence. The alleged offences took place between July 20 and August 2, 2011. None of the defendants has entered a plea. They appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Thursday September 13, and were bailed to appear on October 25 for committal to crown court.

Stolen/lost articles should be covered by your household insurance. The company would probably require some evidence that you have made a formal report.

I only found this 3 month old post because a recent comment pit it up near the top of the list. I found it interesting, because my niece and her children were visiting yesterday, and they had one suitcase "disappear" on their July return from France to Boston. In the suitcase were 4 bottles of Champagne they had bought from a small producer in the village they stayed, along with assorted clothes, including a unique T-shirt my great-niece had gotten on the trip. What was interesting is that the bag was tracked all the way to Boston, having been scanned in as being taken off the flight at Logan, but it never made it to the carousel. And I'll now tell my niece to check her homeowners insurance, since that didn't come up in our discussion. She'll eventually probably recover up to the airlines legal maximum, although right now they're stalling by asking for receipts for everything lost. That's tough when you have a lot of clothes you bought more than a couple of months before.

Hi Bryan,
Thought you'd find this article interesting... http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/tsa-agent-convicted-theft-stealing-bags-common-article-1.1170993

Upon returning from our first trip to Europe, we had a connecting flight from CDG-ORD-DFW. Hubby bought a very nice bottle of Cognac in the CDG duty-free shop and was emphatically told that he could carry it all the way home, even though he explained we had a connecting flight. Had to load it in the luggage at O'Hare and it "mysteriously" disappeared in baggage either in ORD or in DFW. The TSA locks on his checked luggage and mine were both visibly broken. I guess I was lucky that they didn't like the French perfume I was bringing home.
It's difficult to file a complaint when you don't know exactly where the theft occurred. We try to get non-stop/direct flights now if at all possible.