One of the beauties of life is that it never stops providing lessons for all of us. We receive them daily. My list is quite long. Some are received in a sort of unconscious state, while some hit us over the head like a piano falling from several floors above. There are lessons that are granted totally free-of-charge and there are those that come with a fee. We are fortunate when we learn something valuable for free or at a minimal cost. Sometimes the price tag can be substantial.
Recently, I went on a spring break vacation with my entire family. I still call it a spring break vacation because my oldest daughter is a teacher and we usually try to all get together on a beach somewhere during her spring-break week off. This year we managed to go to Puerto Aventuras, in Mexico. My wife, youngest daughter and I flew there from San Francisco and my oldest daughter and her husband, who live in Colorado, flew out of Denver.
I don”t mean to bore anyone with details of my vacation, but it is crucial to my point. Both of my daughters, while departing from different locations, on different airlines, had valuable items stolen from their checked baggage. Before Sept. 11 and the days of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) having the right to rifle through any bag going on a commercial airplane, items traveler”s packed in checked bags were much safer. I can remember when checked baggage was totally safe, because you could actually put a lock on your suitcase.
While I hate opening my bags when I get to my destination and see the little slip that tells me my personal belongings were all handled by a TSA inspector, I also understand the need for transportation safety. The problem is that checked baggage is definitely not safe anymore. Both of my daughters learned that lesson on this recent vacation and they will never place anything of value in their checked baggage again.
Unfortunately, many other travelers have learned the same costly lesson as my daughters. Since the TSA took over the screening of air travel luggage after 9/11, an average of 14,000 loss claims have been filed each year. The airlines, as a group, complained about the high number of thefts from luggage way back in 2002. TSA supposedly increased the oversight of its workers, but the loss claims continue to be about the same every year.
I don”t want to appear to place all of the blame for baggage thefts on TSA employees. I suppose, due to the fact that all airline baggage handlers realize that every bag is unlocked and accessible, some of those workers are responsible for a percentage of the thefts. Just a little over a month ago, 10 airline employee baggage handlers at Bradley International Airport, Hartford County Connecticut, were arrested and charged with an amazing amount of thefts from traveler”s luggage. They stole laptop computers, iPods, cameras and even several 5-foot wooden masks from Africa.
A similar theft ring was uncovered and members were arrested after an investigation in St. Louis. Police have discovered that, in order to be able to steal from passenger luggage, airline baggage handlers have to join together as a team because one individual thief would be too obvious and would have no one to be a lookout while he ransacks a suitcase.
From here on, my advice to everyone is to never place an item of value in your checked bags. If you do, it may not be in your bag when you arrive at home, or wherever your final destination may be.
Gary Dickson is Editor and Publisher of the Record-Bee. He can be reached at gdickson@record-bee.com or 263-5636 ext. 24
