First,we had 2 people traveling through Fort Lauderale airport to LA. Several camera items were missing when they got to LA. They learned that a security agent was stealing from checked in bags.

Just want to avise everyone flying in and out of Spain. The airports in Madrid and Barcelona are dens of thieves!!! Forget the pickpocketers on the subway and streets...watch your bags at both airports. We had a backpack stolen from us. When we went to the police (very hard to find, office in a corner of the airport), they told us 'Son profesionales', were no help. A ticket agent told us in Barcelona that a bag was stolen from a passenger while she was checking in!!

Posted By Bob on August 11, 2011, 9:43 AM

I understand the use of TSA approved locks in your article but the alleged TSA employee who stoled from the bag must have a TSA Approved Key ! Or am I dreaming in techicolor?
I spent 25+ years in the ailrines working mostly at the airport including a tour at the lost luggage department. My advise to anyone is not to put any valuable inside your checked luggage! If you must, then make it as difficult to open your bag as possible ( besides the TSA lock), use a bright color luggage strap ( also help you spot your bag at your destination ). The rule of thumb is if it take the thief more work to open a bag, they probably will go to another bag. It is like using The Club on your steering wheel to deter car thief. Some airport offer service to wrap your bag in plastic wrap; use 2 luggage straps and looped them thru the handles so it cannot be slip off easily.

Posted By Alex Chan on August 11, 2011, 12:05 PM

When I travel, I keep all my credit card receipts in an envelope.... tally them up and put the total on the outside. If the bill comes in correctly, great; if there's a problem I still have all the receipts to verify.

So, I put a sealed envelope in my checked bag with "$815." written on it.
Sure enough, the envelope was torn open, and the receipts searched - no doubt for cash - as part of the TSA inspection.

That taught me most of what I needed to know about checked bags.

Posted By David on August 11, 2011, 1:14 PM

Just gross to think that those that are keeping us safe are stealing from us. I liked the suggestion from the TSA that you ALWAYS keep your eye on your bags as they advance through the x-ray. I got into quite the argument with a TSA person over just that problem. It is nearly impossible to do when they are putting you through a body scanner at the same time all of your cash and valuables are sitting on a conveyor belt 10 feet away.

Posted By George on August 11, 2011, 1:30 PM

I lost my bags (or, rather, the airline did) when I went to Paris a couple of years ago. After 2 days they finally delivered them to our hotel (we would have gotten them after day 1, but they "forgot" to put them on the delivery van to our hotel). When they arrived, a pair of my nice winter boots were missing. Thinking I had forgotten to pack them, I said nothing. Then when I got home and realized they had been taken, I did nothing - I realized how difficult it was just to get my bags back from the airline, so I knew I would never get anything for my boots. In retrospect I regret not doing anything, but I don't think it would have made a bit of difference.

I also had a situation in Zimbabwe, but, well, it was Zimbabwe. My friend and I were on a safari and we were flying back to South Africa before heading home. We had a mini DVD player and several DVDs. We put the DVD player in a carry-on, but packed the videos. When we got back to South Africa we had all over our DVD cases, but the actual discs had been taken out. Again, we did nothing. What's the point?

Posted By jhodgso1 on August 11, 2011, 1:41 PM

The only two times I have checked any bags, TSA did an "inspection". The first time they removed most everything and couldn't get it packed the way it originally was, so they opened the 'expanding' zipper, didn't secure the clothes inside with the straps, and snagged a suit and two jackets in the zipper and ruined them. I filed a claim in March, and have heard nothing.

The second time they opened my suitcase, they took THE CLEAR PLASTIC duty free bag, tore it open and removed the bottle of red wine. Did they put it back where it belonged? (within the suitcase, carefully tucked in and well protected). Of course not. They moved everything around so that they could put it along the outside wall of the suitcase - exactly where it was likely to get broken. When I checked with a TSA supervisor, I was told that they are to look at and could move items in the "suspicious area only" and were not to touch or move anything else. HA!!

I was told to take them to district court to recover the loss of my clothes. And just who can I serve with a supeona? A TSA supervisor that can only be gotten to BEHIND SERCURITY.

Anyone know of an attorney who wants to take this one on?

Posted By Pamm on August 11, 2011, 4:20 PM

The only two times I have checked any bags, TSA did an "inspection". The first time they removed most everything and couldn't get it packed the way it originally was, so they opened the 'expanding' zipper, didn't secure the clothes inside with the straps, and snagged a suit and two jackets in the zipper and ruined them. I filed a claim in March, and have heard nothing.

The second time they opened my suitcase, they took THE CLEAR PLASTIC duty free bag, tore it open and removed the bottle of red wine. Did they put it back where it belonged? (within the suitcase, carefully tucked in and well protected). Of course not. They moved everything around so that they could put it along the outside wall of the suitcase - exactly where it was likely to get broken. When I checked with a TSA supervisor, I was told that they are to look at and could move items in the "suspicious area only" and were not to touch or move anything else. HA!!

I was told to take them to district court to recover the loss of my clothes. And just who can I serve with a supeona? A TSA supervisor that can only be gotten to BEHIND SERCURITY.

Anyone know of an attorney who wants to take this one on?

Posted By Pamm on August 11, 2011, 4:21 PM

Easy plan to solve this issue was taught to me by my Airline Pilot spouse. 1) NEVER EVER check a bag. Learn to travel light in two carry-ons (I can travel for weeks with my 23" roll-aboard and a tote bag. 2) ALWAYS carry your money in a money belt or bra-packet. 3) Leave all expensive jewelry and chatchkes at home. I have an inexpensive sterling silver band that I wear as my wedding ring and silver earrings. I bring simulated pearls and a few easy to replace simple costume jewelry. If I lose them, who cares. youI carry only an inexpensive digital camera with a few memory cards that can store my pictures and be carried in my money belt or wallet. 4) ALWAYS put a purse on the scanner last and watch it without fail.

Posted By Deb on August 11, 2011, 6:26 PM

FYI: The locks and straps on your luggage are useless. There is a way to open your luggage without you finding out about it. As long as luggage has a zipper, there will always be a way to open and close it back exactly the way it was without you knowing about it. Instead buy luggage without zippers and maybe that will help deter luggage tampering or just take your valuables with you on the plane. You could UPS them to your destination and avoid lines at pickup or risk stolen items. Hope this helps. Enjoy. AL.

Posted By AL. RAMOS on August 11, 2011, 7:31 PM

Dont Open bags unless have reason IE drug, bomb sniffing dogs Yes IF trained well, otherwise NO
TSA is a Theft Support Admin & we the Flying Public Lose.
We dont need this , let alone lost luggage.
NO More.
& need Uniform regs for TSA to screen bags anyway.
Or fire some & retrain others or Hire New blood
Can be a good theft ring for YOUR & OUR Items
.

Posted By stephen on August 11, 2011, 8:19 PM

I have learned to travel light and get along on what I can carry on after things were taken from my luggage and TSA blamed the airline and the airline blamed TSA. Filing a police report is useless. Travel used to be pleasant - not anymore. I agree with Deb - take low end jewelry, cameras, etc., even with the carry-ons. The money belt is a good idea but it has to be taken off if one is subjected to the x-ray. Try to insist it be kept in your sight but the TSA folks don't like to be bothered with such minor details like protecting belongings. So it gives those with sticky fingers plenty of opportunity to ply their talents. >sigh

Posted By Eloise on August 11, 2011, 8:48 PM

When I was young and foolish (but old enough to know better) I packed a gold bracelet and costume jewelry matching earrings in my checked luggage on a trip from NY to FLA where I changed in Washington DC. When I arrived, the jewelry case was empty. Since then I have never checked anything of value and I think it is very foolish to pack the items other comments list. If you value it, either leave it at home, or if you purchased it while on your trip, carry it in your hand luggage. I travel a great deal and can say that I have never had trouble with the TSA personnel at an airport, or anything missing from my luggage since that one time. I have packed wine/liquor in my checked luggage many times, flying both internationally and domestically, and only once has a bottle broken. The advice to use only a carry-on and a tote is the best suggestion, though I often can't, or don't, do that. I've also never had a bag permanently lost, and the last time a bag was lost for a few days was 15 years ago... pretty impressive record for the airlines, I would say. I have occasionally had a bag not make my connecting flight, but fortunately this has always happened on my trip home, and the luggage was delivered within a day or two, to my house.

Posted By Susan on August 11, 2011, 9:13 PM

I always carry my valuables with me when I travel. The only thing so far that was stolen from my checked bag was my suitcase strap which had a Hawaiian floral design. Now I use a plain red strap and it's still in use after three years of traveling. I find it so disgusting that we pay for these TSA people to rummage through our bags and steal what they want.

Posted By Amy on August 12, 2011, 4:55 PM

I've been lucky so far not to have anything stolen out of my bags, but I get furious at people who complain at the amount of carry on luggage people bring these days. I don't want to carry all that stuff either. And I wouldn't - if I didn't know that the thieves are working on the payrolls of TSA and the airlines. And to top it all off, the airlines have the gall to charge us for the privilege of opening ourselves up to the thievery of their poorly screened, poorly supervised employees. Nice scam!

Posted By Sande on August 13, 2011, 9:53 AM

My daughter had candy opened coming home from a cruise and some were taken. We have been fortunate to have nothing else stolen. However, someone did steal my luggage strap some years ago and now I do not use one. I hate having to pay to check bags and then they are not secure and you have to worry. I also only travel with cheap silver jewelry to play safe.

Posted By maria engel on August 13, 2011, 4:33 PM

I always put brightly colored zip ties through the zippers on the suitcases after TSA has made their inspection at check-in. Since they are colored, they are less likely to be replicated so I can tell if my bags have been opened.

Coming back from Mexico with 3 very well wrapped bottles of tequila, I saw that my zip ties were gone. TSA had left their note in my bag that my luggage had been inspected and ALL 3 BOTTLES had been unwrapped and re-packed EXACTLY how I had packed them: in bubble wrap taped with packing tape, wrapped in my husband's dirty socks, wrapped in dirty laundry, sealed individually into zip loc bags and wrapped in more dirty laundry! They made it back in perfect condition. My hats off to the TSA agent that went to all that trouble!

Posted By Ruth on November 8, 2011, 2:11 AM

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion. - Abraham Lincoln

Posted By Erna Smith on February 1, 2012, 3:18 PM

We booked a flight on Aeromexico from Miami with one stop in Mexico City. After looking online I noticed that so many people had there luggage slashed open and items stolen without even opening the suitcase itself. Aeromexico was not helpful to any of these people. I never pack valuables in our bags, however I am worried that our suitcase will never make it to our destination. Aeromexico really needs to do something about the theives that work at Mexico City Airport. Inside job no doubt!

Posted By Shelly on May 16, 2012, 2:22 PM