A secret flight tip could help ensure your luggage is among the first pieces to appear on the carousel once you’ve landed, and it doesn’t involve ‘fragile’ stickers
Airport journeys can be riddled with anxiety, from the nail-biting security queues to the dread of misplaced luggage that only subsides once you spot your case on the conveyor belt. Whilst keeping a watchful eye ensures nobody mistakenly grabs your bag, a clever hack could see you retrieving your suitcase ahead of the crowd after landing.
Travel experts at Escape.com have shared a cunning strategy: check in your luggage as late as possible without risking missing your flight. Airport ramp worker and gate agent Thomas Lo Sciuto revealed the insider knowledge: “Your best option is to be one of the last passengers to check your bags.
“This is because bags will always be loaded front to back on the bag carts.”
Yet timing alone doesn’t guarantee success. Occasionally, it’s down to the way you pack your belongings, reports the Mirror US.
If leaving check-in until the eleventh hour fills you with dread, SmarterTravel discloses that some carriers – such as Delta at London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3 – organise luggage by dimensions to achieve proper weight balance aboard the aircraft, suggesting an alternative approach worth considering.
Hand over your case at the check-in desk and curious about its journey afterwards?
Your luggage is sorted into large containers, or “cans”, which can carry multiple bags for easier transport.
As per travel site SmarterTravel: “In other words, how far back your bag ends up depends on the weight of the can and the needs of the plane, not when you check it.”
It’s worth noting that single-aisle planes usually store checked luggage in a holding area before being loaded onto the aircraft shortly before take-off. Thus, suitcases are likely to be loaded in the order they were checked in.
However, checking in early may actually work against you – your bag could be put at the back of the storage space and loaded last, although it would probably be the first to be unloaded.
Want to avoid a lengthy wait at the baggage carousel?
Marking your suitcase as “fragile” could do the trick. News site news.com.au suggests that labelling your suitcase “fragile” can result in ground staff loading your bag last, which means they could unload it first.
Suitcases are also more likely to be processed in batches, meaning the order may not always be the same.
But remember to remove any old “fragile” labels from a previous trip.
You can also jazz up your luggage with ribbons, brightly coloured labels, or a unique name tag so it’s easily spotted.
Travelling with only hand luggage is the quickest way to breeze through the airport.
However, to avoid having to check your bag in, make sure it meets the airline’s specific requirements.
A personal item, often referred to as a small bag, should fit under the seat in front of you and typically shouldn’t exceed 40x30x20cm.
Hand luggage must be stowed in the overhead locker. They usually weigh up to 10kg and are no larger than 56x45x25cm.
Among UK airlines, British Airways typically offers the most generous free hand luggage allowance on its basic fares.
Passengers are allowed to bring one 23kg hand luggage bag (56x45x25cm) and one smaller personal item (up to 40x30x15cm) free of charge.
Jet2 and Virgin Atlantic also allow a free hand luggage bag (10kg, 56x45x25cm) and a personal item. Always double-check with individual airlines before you travel.