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Videos: bad baggage handlers (or, Remind me again why we pay to check luggage!)
What happens to your bags after you hand them over at the airport? It's a question we've all asked ourselves. Are our bags cared for lovingly? Are they abused? Are they tossed and thrown... or set down carefully, gently?
While most baggage handlers are no doubt scrupulous and careful with luggage, every group has its bad apples. Here are some of the worst offenders, making us mutter to ourselves, "Remind me again why we pay to check luggage!"
Watch these baggage handlers see who can get the best backward, over the head shot into containers with luggage and shipped packages.
It's clear that this baggage handler is not really interested in "handling" the baggage as it comes off the plane.
This young lady was having fun bag tossing... until she realized passengers were watching her from the plane.
These British Air baggage handlers seem to enjoy watching the bags bounce off each other.
These EasyJet baggage handlers seem to think it's appropriate to stack the smallest bags on the bottom... and dump the larger bags on top.
This guy doesn't throw any bags... he just drags the bags behind the baggage car.
So you think locking your luggage makes it safer? Ha! This video shows you precisely how to get into a "locked" bag.
These baboons at Knowlsey Safari Park give new meaning to the phrase "baggage handlers."
Good luck on your next flight, and remember: don't pack anything valuable in your checked bags!
While most baggage handlers are no doubt scrupulous and careful with luggage, every group has its bad apples. Here are some of the worst offenders, making us mutter to ourselves, "Remind me again why we pay to check luggage!"
Watch these baggage handlers see who can get the best backward, over the head shot into containers with luggage and shipped packages.
This young lady was having fun bag tossing... until she realized passengers were watching her from the plane.
These British Air baggage handlers seem to enjoy watching the bags bounce off each other.
These EasyJet baggage handlers seem to think it's appropriate to stack the smallest bags on the bottom... and dump the larger bags on top.
This guy doesn't throw any bags... he just drags the bags behind the baggage car.
So you think locking your luggage makes it safer? Ha! This video shows you precisely how to get into a "locked" bag.
These baboons at Knowlsey Safari Park give new meaning to the phrase "baggage handlers."
Good luck on your next flight, and remember: don't pack anything valuable in your checked bags!
Filed under: Video
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
Malaycobra Feb 23rd 2010 10:02PM
Luggage Monkeys!
I have to remember that one
David Jul 10th 2010 12:28PM
No matter what everyone in the Good ole USA has a choice to be what they want to be. There are too many options out there for people to take. If they don't want to be a baggage monkey, then they should go be something else stop taking the money that someone else wants to make to do a better job than them. Damn I think that is what I have spent a couple two of three tours in Iraq for. There are way too many people in our great country for them to throw peoples stuff that they also at some time or another worked hard for whether they went to collage and have a desk job, serve in the military, construction, auto workers, roughnecks, or even yes other baggage workers. Everyone depends on other people to do there jobs to the best that the job requires them to do. If you don't like it then just freaking quit, and let someone else who wouldn't mind having a freaking job and who don't mind treating peoples stuff with a little respect, because for some it may be all they have.
anon Feb 27th 2010 2:14AM
consider the videos in order.
first video-packages being tossed over the high sides of a trailer. how the hell else are they supposed to get them over the sides? they're already being tossed, what difference does it make whether its underhand or behind the back
second video-handler piling luggage next to the conveyor. what is he supposed to do with them when they're coming and there is no cart there yet to load them on?
third video-girl pushing baggage off the conveyor. I'll agree with this one, she could at least pick them up off the conveyor instead of just shoving them
fourth video-luggage tossed on cart. what's the problem? it's not that far. the cart is not next to the conveyor and the handler has to get back for the next bag. just because you see more lag between the last few bags doesn't mean the first bags weren't coming faster. these videos don't show the full story.
fith video-baggage being loaded on a truck. the handlers on the truck don't control which size bags are being unloaded. they have to pull the bag off the conveyor and move to the next one. what difference does it make if a small bag is under a few big ones? if they seperated the small from the large, small bags would just end up under a big pile of other small bags, same weight regardless, if not more
sixth video-baggage being dragged. watch the video closely and you can tell that they cut off the begining that showed the bags falling off the front cart (which is most likely when the bag got caught on the back of the back cart) before the handler turned around to go get them
seventh video-luggage broken into. omg you mean someone figured out how to open a self repairing zipper and then reclose it?
eigth video-morons view of the typical baggage handler. 'nuff said.
no, I don't work for the airlines. I just have common sense. if you want your stuff quick (like every airline passenger), expect less than careful handling. if you want it handled like a baby, do it yourself.
Stan Lorenz Feb 27th 2010 9:42AM
I agree with you 100% only we are called Baggage Handlers not "MONKEYS" have some respect for us that do handle your luggage and cargo properly!
40 year Baggage Hanler and Instructor for major Airline
Anon Feb 24th 2010 3:53PM
Anyone that's shocked by these videos has clearly never worked in the airline or shipping industry before. Sure, a few were a little excessive (the first video where they're tossing freight into the bin), but most of these videos are how every package/bag is handled. Nothing out of the ordinary.
It is the shipper's responsibility to make sure that their items are packed securely and safely inside whatever container they use. Don't put a "ming vase" inside a tiny cardboard box underneath the plane with hundreds of other packages. Be smart and your stuff won't get broken.
The airline industry is extremely time sensitive, and if you want your luggage to make the same flight you do, you can't expect the white gloves to come out and every package/luggage piece to be coddled. Use a little common sense and nothing with get damaged.
jordao Feb 26th 2010 8:36PM
pft. whatever. Those workers were acting like sloths. I know what they get paid. bonehead.
adamsk Feb 26th 2010 8:53PM
totally agree- pack your bags so that nothing gets broken.and to those who think this is atrocious- yea they might get paid a ton ( though i dont know if they do) but how bout you get out of your office chair and stand outside all day picking up heavy bags and lifting them. Doubt youd last a day
Bobbie Battle Feb 26th 2010 8:59PM
Your statements are so true. Whether baggage handlers or material handlers very little consideration is given to how a package is handled. Tossing around 50+ lbs a day puts stress on you physically, so packing items securely before they are handled by someone else can give you peace of mind when it is being shipped.
A customer shipped a bottle of wine without any labeling i.e: fragile, liquid, glass etc. It was placed in a box with no or very little packing material for protection. Unfortunately, it was tossed with other packages and the bottle broke with the liquid spilling out of the package. I was sorry for the receiver of it, but there was little recourse on the company's behalf.
Pathfinder Feb 26th 2010 9:19PM
You, If you are still working there should be fired along with your chronies thatt treat the luggage the same
Jim Feb 26th 2010 9:12PM
Totally. I just look out of the window when we land at the baggage handlers unloading the hold. This is the way they always operate. Also inside the baggage handling areas most people would be shocked at the hydraulic rams they use, which put several hundred pounds of pressure on your suitcases, in order to direct them onto the correct conveyor belts.
Marshall Feb 26th 2010 10:12PM
I saw the video of the mail and baggage handlers unloading parcels and bags.
Why can't they use more caution ? Why do they have to toss packages and
large pieces of mail way up in the air aimlessly and let them fall on the pavement?
This explains why we have to sometimes file damage claims on stuff we order online.
I can understand why some airlines are time sensitive about when their planes are
being loaded and unloaded. Yup! I can only hope that whatever I ship by air will get
to its destination safely and I put fragile stickers all over the box or mailing tubes
I use and then insure the shipment before I turn it over to the next stage--the trip to
the airport. I will otherwise use FedEx overnight for most valuable shipments.
Lori Beth Feb 26th 2010 10:34PM
White gloves? Seriously? I think that people spend good money packing and shipping items to their family or to earn extra income selling online to support themselves and/or their family and for handlers to show such disregard and disrespect for these items is despicable, especially in these times. I wouldn't expect each item to be daintily set in a secure place piece by piece but why take out your frustrations on innocent people's belongings? They are receiving a paycheck and therefore I shouldn't EXPECT for them to handle items in this deplorable manner. (When did the world become this way in which one should expect such things? How very sad!) It is the responsibility of both the packer AND the shipper to make sure a package gets to its destination without being outrageously or for that matter, even mildly mistreated.
Bandit Feb 26th 2010 10:37PM
That first video is mail being off-loaded. The green and orange mail pouches, outside parcels, and flats buckets. The next time you get your mail in a baggie, or your parcel is smashed, just remember, this happens at EVERY stop along the way.
Brad Feb 26th 2010 11:12PM
Ok, if they drag my luggage on the ground, it does not matter how well I packed it, something will be damaged.
Me Feb 26th 2010 11:46PM
I'm not shocked at all, it's about what I expected (including the under-the-arm-behind-the-back video). I got a new set of suitcases for Christmas one year. During their maiden voyage, something sliced clear through and entirely across the back. I stitched it up, and on the second journey, something punched a hole in it, and the back of my other suitcase was sliced. I never put anything breakable inside my suitcases now if I can help it. I don't expect them to handle with care, I can't say I would if that was my job.
Veteran Feb 26th 2010 11:56PM
you or someone in your family must work for an airline. If one is expected to pay to fly a bag it should be taken care of........
Paraldahyde Feb 27th 2010 12:49AM
You sound like a real winner, Anon.... First, it's imbecilic to observe that most people who are surprised to see parcels abused "...clearly never worked in the airline or shipping industry before..." This goes without saying, you moron. What an asinine statement. Second, who cares if you consider abusive handling of parcels par for the course??? It's still WRONG, and when observed, it's still intolerable. Your lazy ass making excuses for these brainless handlers is meaningless. No matter how well packed, items risk being needlessly broken when they're treated as though they were footballs.... You're just as ignorant, self-centered and untrustworthy as the human refuse observed in these videos. So I respectfully suggest that you go off and chase yourself around a tree, and leave the decision-making to the grown-ups.
Tina Feb 27th 2010 1:31AM
Anon, I agree. If people freak out over these videos. I only watched two of them and the first one I would expect. These people are working outside and mostly do this all day. if anyone sees the first video and think that's really bad, then maybe they should get a job!
BethesdaDog Mar 1st 2010 1:17AM
Yeah, I guess you're right. I had a friend who worked at a major international airport years ago. He told me a story about when they dropped a casket. I can't really remember what happened--whether the lid popped or the contents shifted--but it was the kind of thing that made me not want to ship a casket.
Travel Now Feb 27th 2010 9:06AM
I do work in the airline industry and I am appalled by what I have seen here today. If you get a job as a luggage handler...you should take pride in your work. There are lots of people who do not have jobs that want jobs. Just think of it this way...this luggage helps you pay your bills...no travelers, no luggage, no pay! This is how I see my clients. If nobody travels...I don't get paid. I treat all of my clients with the utmost respect because if I sell...I make money. Just my two cents worth! Take it or leave it!