Do you tie ribbons to your travel bags? Here’s why it could delay their arrival at airport

Tying ribbons to suitcases while travelling is an age-old practice for avid travellers.

The idea behind the practice is to put some sort of identifier on the bags to make their suitcases stand apart from the hundreds of bags in the rotation on the carousel.

However, baggage handlers at the airport have warned against the trick.

Here’s why.

Ribbon attachments may delay their arrival

According to baggage handler John at Dublin Airport, baggage attachments cause delays in the arrival of passengers’ suitcases.

“Ribbons that people tie onto their suitcases to help identify them can cause issues with the bag being scanned in the baggage hall,” he told RSVP Live.

Although the bright ribbon or other accessories might make it simpler to find, airport luggage scanners may find a problem with it.

The bag handler explained, “If the bag can’t be scanned automatically, it can end up in manual processing, which could mean your bag doesn’t make it to the flight.”

Sending the suitcase off without identifiers gives it a better chance of arriving on the carousel easily.

Some other tips

John also suggests “taking off stickers off the bag” as “it can cause confusion with the scanning process.”

Packing marzipan, or almond sweet dough, inside suitcases is another reason why a lot of people have their bags pulled.

“Don’t ever pack marzipan in your luggage. It has the same density as some explosives, so your bag will be removed and you’ll be called from the plane for a bag search,” the Dublin baggage expert said.

Suitcase wheels should be turned up as one of the final things you do before luggage drop off to prevent damage.

The Department of Transportation states that airlines are in charge of fixing or paying for passengers’ damaged luggage.

The preventive actions taken by the luggage handlers at Dublin Airport should lessen travellers’ anxiety when travelling.

How to not lose luggage on holiday

Travellers can take easy precautions to prevent their luggage from going missing.

First, reserve a direct ticket to minimise the possibility of a misplaced bag. Although flights with layovers may be less expensive, there is a double risk of a missing suitcase.

Another option for travellers is to print their itinerary and place it in the case’s front pocket. In this manner, if airport employees uncover the missing luggage, they would know where to try to deliver it.

The baggage handling systems market is growing

Meanwhile, a recent industry report indicates that the market for airport baggage handling systems is expected to rise significantly worldwide.

The market, which is expected to be valued at $7.30 billion in 2023, is expected to grow at a healthy Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.67 per cent from 2024 to 2032 when it reaches $13.05 billion.

The reason for this is the continuous increase in air travel worldwide, which goes hand in hand with airports all over the world using automated baggage handling systems.

With inputs from agencies