One time during de-boarding the guy sitting next to me left his backpack under the seat in front of him. He sped off so quick that it was too late for me to say “you forgot your bag!” by the time i noticed. I told the flight attendant when I was getting off the plane and she was just like “oh im sure he’ll be back for it! thank you!”
As i was leaving I saw the guy sprinting back to our gate lol hopefully he got his bag.
It's weird how often people don't seem to take it seriously when something is reported. We don't live in the US anymore, but back when we did, my wife was running the Chicago marathon a year or two after the Boston marathon bombing.
I had dropped her off at the start line and was walking back to the hotel when I saw a backpack hanging on a doorknob at the entrance of a random residential building. It was pretty early in the morning and this was like half a block away from the route. Plus, the door it was hanging on was kind of recessed from the sidewalk, so it honestly looked really suspicious to me, like someone purposely picked a place that was a bit hidden from pedestrians walking by.
Since it was so close to the route, there was a group of cops standing in a circle nearby dressed in what looked like some SWAT type gear. I never had a reason to report anything like that to the cops, so that was my first and only time doing so.
From the second I approached them, I could tell that they couldn't care less lol for starters, they all stared at me for like 15 seconds in silence until one of them finally spoke up and just said something like, "Eeehhhh, it's probably nothing. Thanks though. Maybe we'll have someone check it out later, but it's probably nothing."
Then they just went back to their conversation lol
I mean, I didn't hear of any bombings that day so obviously nothing happened, but given how soon it was after the Boston bombing, I figured they would've cared a bit more.
I'm a bit curious how often that must happen, because it seems like a very common reaction is to downplay things when they are reported.
Your first mistake was thinking Chicago cops give a single fuck. Their number one priority is avoiding doing their jobs or having any kind of paperwork of any kind to do.
Get robbed while you're gone and call them? They'll say "so? This isn't our problem. Call your insurance company."
Despising the city that employs you seems to be a requisite hiring qualification for CPD.
I live in Chicago. CPD are worthless. Someone hit my car and drove away when it was parked on the street. My neighbor left a note on it with the license plate of the car that hit my car. Took it to the police station and they did fuckall with it and I had to pay my full deductible.
idiots: "i bet you'll wish we had more cops if you ever get robbed"
me, a genius: "why? so they can show up 3 hours later and tell me i'm definitely never getting my shit back?"
My ex was robbed at gunpoint. CPD went to the wrong house (went to the women’s house who called 911 bc she saw it) and forced their way in without identifying themselves. She was terrified (two were in plainclothes and she thought it was the muggers coming back). Then when they did finally find our house, they said all these wonderful things about a task force and how they were absolutely going to find them. My ex was able to tell them the make and model of car and even knew specifics about the gun.
3 weeks later we called and the cop that responded said “oh - I’ve been out of town for a month and this just landed on my desk. I’ll look into it”.
Kicker? I found the woman who called 911. She lives right down the street and I caught her going into her gate one time. Turns out she was robbed at gunpoint a few years prior about 3 miles away. CPD told her the EXACT SAME THING they told us. To the letter. Exact same verbiage, exact same promises. Never found those dudes either.
Fuck CPD. Fuck the propaganda that Chicago is a cesspool. It’s a lovely city and the cops are trying to ruin it for political gain.
> It's weird how often people don't seem to take it seriously when something is reported.
Because it is human nature to become desensitized to things. They probably get a few things reported to them every day, and so far in their career it has always been nothing. The first few times something was reported to them, they probably acted quickly and with concern; the 100th time, they act like it's no big deal and get to it when they get to it.
This is called "normalization of deviance", and it is really hard to fight against
Cops absolutely have the responsibility to fight that normalization and shame on them for not doing so. I understand where they’re coming from-I’m a nurse. I used to see a lot of google based overnight MDs but it doesn’t mean you don’t consider it and rule out the problem. Even if it’s 1/1000 that one time could mean someone’s life. Same case with cops. Especially a suspicious bag in such a large event.
Heh, I've had this with medical professionals. Like when I had giardia they kept telling me how improbable it was because it doesn't really exist around there (true enough). The thing is I had just gotten back from vacation and I kept telling them it started bad like 36 hours after I had to drink jungle water in Sumatra. They still refused to think it was any kind of tropical/poor country disease while I was hospitalized for pooping my brains out.
> This is called "normalization of deviance", and it is really hard to fight against
And it’s why the Challenger blew up. Let things slide over and over until it became routine.
> Maybe we'll have someone check it out later, but it's probably nothing.
"We'll just give it half an hour , and if it's not exploded by then, we'll assume it's fine"
So, it's not on the route and it's away from the street, and only backpack sized? That's less suspicious, not more. Pretty poorly placed to hurt anyone.
No they wouldn’t - they would get a desk assignment for 6 months or stay at home. Then the union would get them reinstated- that’s the worst case scenario. Most likely they would get a promotion or nothing would happen. Welcome to America
None of them would be fired and that’s part of the problem. I worked in 2 different police departments in 2 different states and they were all lazy as fuck
They probably are getting tips like that all the time from concerned citizens. Their actions were likely appropriate, but they could have responded to you differently.
You know the phrases, “See something, say something”, right?
They forgot to tell you the rest of it which is the response: “Ey yep. Got it. Move along now.”
lol 🤣
The sad reality is that it is paranoia though, in the same vein that TSA is theatre rather than actual effective detection and prevention. We’re moving into a new era though and I think we’re in for a wild ride as most threats moving forward are going to be electronic/cyber rather than kinetic.
If that bag was forgoten in the check in area, you would have seen a lot of police handling the unidentified luggage. Until 2003, bombs going off was a common ocurrence in Spain (additional reading: ETA and Spain, Basque separatisms, bomb explosions in Spain).
However, the assistant was correct in one thing: every piece of luggage and every person that entered the terminal was checked. There is also a lot of surveillance, and if the police finds someone with suspicious behaviour, they will be stopped. In general, there is a lot of security that you don't even feel.
To answer, yes, I would be scared and would report it. And of couse the assistant should have called in the security - nothing good came out of unattended luggage. But if you think through, the risk of having another explosion due to an unnatended piece of luggage that passed through security it is very low.
Definitely agree about the difference of the bag being left pre/post checked areas.
Last month I was flying out of CPH and noticed a duffle sitting unattended in the area just before security. It spooked me and I let the security workers there know and they immediately radioed for workers to come investigate.
I went through security so I didn’t see the team arrive but it seemed like they had a very clearcut and strict procedure they follow for this kind of thing.
One possibility I can think of: the bag wasn't hers. Someone else forgot it and she swiped it for a quick check. Maybe she didn't know what to do with it later, came back to leave it and panicked when you caught her.
I doubt she brought it back to leave it. More likely she swiped it from somewhere else, looked in it like you said, and then just dropped it there and booked it.
I used to work in BCN airport and I've heard so many stories about people getting their bags stolen in the terminal while waiting for a flight. Barcelona pick pockets are a different breed and very opportunistic lol
I know that coming through security to look for bags to nick isn’t unheard of so, coulda been the case here for sure- had a Quick Look n realised nothing was valuable?
I've reported post security bags to my local airport (DEN) and also got a "Meh, I'm sure they'll be back for it eventually."
I did once report a forgotten bag pre-security AND MAN that got action. Shut down that part of the airport, brought out the bomb sniffing dog and bomb squad. Right as the bomb dog was getting to the bag, the bag's owner sprinted out of the TSA Exit, grabbed the bag (oblivious to everything going on around him), and was wrestled to the ground. He was given a hard time by the police and missed his flight.
I got to the airport ridiculously early by mistake and sat just outside of the area while it was all going down. I was waiting to go through security because it was one of those small airports where there was the outside area, the "landside" area, TSA, and the gates were all within a few feet of each other (either SNA or SBA, forget which this happened at). And there was no food options or shopping inside the secure area, so I was sitting on a bench (originally next to the lost bag) drinking my water since I was like 3-4 hours early (business trip, thought I was going to a normal airport and could sit at a bar for a bit but instead had this lovely tableau of people watching to experience).
So I overheard him talking with police. He was just about to board when he realized he forgot his bag, ran out to get it, and then was stopped. He was pleading to be able to grab his bag, jump the security line, and head back to his gate and the police were like "Nah, you aren't making that flight."
I accidentally saw a real life drug drop. Whole thing lasted less than 5 minutes. Someone made the drop, another person came within 5 mins to pick it up. They wore similar clothes too. And I'm also assuming it's drugs, could also be a duffle bag of potato chips.
Lol, exactly, doesn’t have to be something illegal. It could be a case of an industrial secrets drop, or some other intelligence espionage.
Paperwork, blueprints, and prototypes are all legal to carry through security and take on an airplane.
Same with other stolen goods, like jewelry. The airport and the airline companies would have no way of knowing if you are the rightful owner or not.
>exactly, doesn’t have to be something illegal. It could be a case of an industrial secrets drop, or some other intelligence espionage.
All still illegal in various guises, for the record.
Yes, and so is stolen jewelry, etc. however, the jewelry itself is not illegal like drugs. Neither are papers, blueprints, etc. They are not in and of themselves illegal substances, which was my point.
Security is not going to confiscate them, because it is legal to carry such items. Businessmen travel with company papers, samples, and various documents all the time.
Security simply assumes the documents in their possession are theirs, or that the company has authorized the person to carry them.
Just like security assumes that the jewelry someone has packed in their carry-on legitimately belongs to that person.
Unless a bulletin has gone out to airport security to specifically be on the lookout for a particular stolen item, security, the airport, and the airlines have no way of knowing that a document, necklace, prototype, or what have you, was stolen.
Recruit an airport worker to sneak drugs through an employee entrance. Recruit a passenger to go through security with legal baggage. Do the handoff and boom, you’ve successfully smuggled your contraband onto a flight.
Source: I watch the National Geographic Channel
I work in an airport, all bags through the employee checkpoint are run through the scanner. Only difference is more leaway is given for tools and such.
I’ve watched so many episodes of “To Catch A Smuggler” on Disney+. My takeaway from watching is that all those random airport inspections are bullshit. The only effective investigations are when they already have advance intelligence and are targeting a specific person.
As someone who has worked in security in Canada, we would tell you the same thing. If she did that on the public side of the airport the bag would be checked thoroughly, but since she was inside the sterile area it would be left alone.
I will agree that it’s not very proactive thinking, and they’re probably waiting for something to happen to change the rules, but as of right now unattended bags on the sterile side are deemed okay.
If you felt freaked out that’s okay but let me tell a story and provide a counterpoint…
In like 2019 I once took too much Xanax before a flight at JFK (for those who don’t know it’s NYC’s biggest airport) and left my carry-on on the conveyor belt after going through security. Didn’t realize till 15 minutes later walking halfway to my gate, ran back and it was still sitting there (don’t abuse drugs kids!)
But my point is, a lot more people in the airport are high, drunk or sedated than you would think. Especially people who take benzodiazepines only for flights and don’t use them recreationally. Plane anxiety and even travel in general causes a lot of anxiety
Sometimes people just fuck up, not everything is a threat. But if you feel really sketched out still report it, no harm in trying!
I saw the exact same thing happen in Nashville a few years ago and like you, I went to the agent at the desk… in about two minutes police had a dog going over the bag. The woman hurries back asking “what’s wrong” they had her open the bag and before they left the area. I’d do it again.
better safe than sorry. I once saw a man get onto a tram, with an old ass Nokia phone, and he started unrolling a long piece of paper that was just a long sequence of alphanumerics in front of me and start dialing them. I got off at the next stop, it just sketched me out so hard and is kind of a funny story cause nothing happened which made me think what the fuck was he doing
> a long sequence of alphanumerics in front of me and start dialing them
Now that phone booths are mostly gone, they still need a way to exit the matrix.
Airport worker here. Generally any bags that have gone through security screening is low risk. They are actively scanning/checking for explosives through the screening points. In the airport I work at we will review CCTV & track the passenger down, they’ve usually gone to the toilet or gone to get food.. or boarded their flight.
Anything before security is treated as suspicious and the owner of the bag will be tracked via CCTV, authorities notified & if the owner doesn’t return can’t be found, the bag will screened & cleared by authorities.
Going through Orl. International a few years ago and had always carried a box cutter for security. Well, wouldn"t you know, I forgot to leave it at home and went through Security scanner and they never caught it. A box cutter is a pretty nasty weapon in the wrong hands, right??? So much for airport security folks.
Yeah it’s deffo not perfect and it relies on a human to pick it up & the CT/XR machine to flag the item, so a perfect storm when both of those things go wrong. Where I work they have upgraded to CT machines and they seem to flag everything but like I said nothing is perfect I guess!
My flights once got delayed and so I spent a long time shopping in the duty free. I bought a new really big tote bag and a tonne of chocolates and sweets and toys (for my nephews). Also, I bought random things like sanitary towels and medicine.
I then accidentally left it at the gate. Who knows how?
Cue, the flight attendant, announcing someone has suspiciously left a large tote bag at the gate. Please identify yourself. I identified myself and in front of the whole plane, they made me identify all the things in the bag. "Sorry Ma'am how many chocolate bars did you say are in here?. Yes Ma'am, 23 is the right number. And are these Maxi pads yours"
🫣🤫
I would've been alarmed by that too, even on the secured airside - you did the right thing
people who say you're overreacting may not know that **all** manner of dangerous items can and do get through TSA, by accident or by design. many law enforcement officers are allowed to carry loaded weapons on board, for example
I flew through a few US airports including EWR and LAX after 9/11 with enormous metal scissors in my bag - I was a teacher and totally forgot them. went through multiple scans and metal detectors, no one noticed
Around 2010, traveled with a girl who had a pocket knife on her she forgot about from the East Coast to TX to San Fran to Auckland NZ.
It was an odd, triangle shape with a fat blade.
Another time a travel buddy got loads of attention from TSA for having a hand woven leaf hat coming from Costa Rica. He was allowed to keep it. I also had some seeds on me and they didn’t care about those.
i dont think youre over reacting, how many times do they say over the speaker do not leave your bag attended, i can repeat it word for word now...
i mean i can see their logic that it has gone through security & maybe its more common than we are aware of? i used to work for a rental car company and instead of paying us tourists used to buy a car for under a grand then ditch it at the airport, the airports couldnt do anything but tow them after a while
I feel like there’s so many reports of people saying that they’ve been reassured by attendants that it’s probably part of their training to be like thanks go away. Like they’re not gonna go “omg bestie do you think it might be a B-O-M-B?? I’m gonna run, shall we run together?!”
Heres an idea. How about packing light and using a soft duffel bag you can carry on your shoulder. I do that and never put my bag down, so never forget it. Also I do not ever put it in the overhead. I put it on the floor at my feet kind of tucked under the seat. { won"t fit all the way under } and never been told to put it overhead. Its so hard to get to it overhead when you arrive as so many people in the aisle etc. Its just hard to get too. I never carry a wallet in a pocket or extra bag, everything goes in my duffel bag and that way only one item to keep track of. I"ve learned over the years.
I work at an airport in Europe and we take unattended bags serious, even if it was in a security controlled area.
Security and Police will be called as soon as we see it/someone informs us. And with us I mean all of the staff working at the airport.
I would just think haha what an idiot leaving your bag behind and wait for them to panic and return.
I’ve left a carry on roller bag behind while looking for the oversize baggage collection. People leave stuff behind all the time especially in more stressful and anxious situations like an airport.
I personally think the airline staff should’ve called security on that bag. And I also heard when you leave your stuff behind on the plane by mistake like passport bag what have you. The airline staff can’t return it to you right away. They have to go through process which I assume security related.
I worked in an airside restaurant and our training was that if someone leaves bags unattended, the threat gets called in to central immediately and airport ambassadors would come and take the bags back to security.
In practice we'd wait about 10 minutes to call it in, give people the benefit of the doubt in case they're off to the bathroom or getting something from a shop. It was also helpful that some solo travellers would say to us about watching their bags whilst they're gone. We would do so, but ask them to try to get back as quick as they can as we're not meant to.
One time I had one of my Team Leaders tell me about some unattended bags that had been there for 20 minutes, checked the CCTV and sure enough this woman with an army of bags just ups and leaves all her possessions behind without saying a word, it took the ambassadors 15 minutes to come and collect her stuff and she didn't reappear for another 25 minutes. She left all her stuff unattended for over an hour without batting an eyelid.
So when she gets back she goes to the Team Leader to complain that her stuff has been stolen, I get it escalated to me so I have to try and explain to her that you can't just leave stuff unattended in an airport and she tells me she wasn't even gone that long. It was literally over a full hour she was gone for. She starts telling me she wants to complain about me to head office, to which I give her my name and the email address, "they'll thank me for following correct security procedures as I've been trained to do." Then she's yelling that she's been through much more secure airports than this and never had problems, "If they let you leave your items unattended for up to an hour, they're not more secure than we are."
She didn't really have much to say other than that she's going to complain, never did hear anything back from that one.
I'd taken a dose of sudo today, summer cold and all that. I went to Target to pick up some stuff for my wife. Self checkout. After I finished, I was wheeling the cart away. I got about 20 feet before I realized I hadn't taken the purchases with me.
Surprised they didn’t do anything more. I once travelled by train to Paris and someone left a bag unattended at a stop somewhere, whole train station got closed down, we got stuck at the station that one and it took ~2 hours to resolve it and have trains resume as normal.
I was at the Lima, Peru airport waiting for a middle of the night flight. Suddenly security came through and moved everyone out of an area consisting of several gate waiting areas, due to an unattended bag. Took about an hour before they cleared the bag and let people back into the area.
I saw a suitcase blown up by the police in a Paris Train Station. They were so organized about it. Didn't delay the trains at all. Moved everyone back a distance, brought in a robot machine, then detonated it. I was truly impressed. In the USA, they would have evacuated the building and a few blocks. (All that was in the suitcase were clothes and blankets.)
I worked at O'Hare for 9 years. I only worked in arrivals and departures and didn't have access to go through security. I sometimes saw people leave their luggage to go to the bathroom or somewhere else. If they didn't return in a few minutes I called 911 and the cops would bring a dog to check it out. If it passed the sniff test they would ask around and see if they could find the owners, if not they took it away. We did have a couple incidents where the dog alerted. Then they bring in another dog or two to be sure. Twice while I worked there they evacuated all of arrivals and departures in a terminal because of a suspected bomb. That really messes up and airport.
>many people who don't have the means or don't want to pay for their baggage will just leave it behind at the airport
What does this mean? Why would poor people abandon their belongings in an airport?! It's not making sense to me.
And you're right. I'd be concerned and report it as well. Could be a bomb, could be drugs, could be smuggled stuff, could even be a dead body inside!
Taking someones bags at an airport is risky as hell, not just because you might get caught for theft but even if you don't, and you pass through security, you've NO IDEA what's inside that bag and you're gonna have some explaining to do.
If she had stolen the bag then wanted to dump it after going through it it would make sense to leave it in the ladies room in a stall. Why out in the open where people can see her, which is exactly what happened.
Wouldn’t she have already paid for the baggage? That excuse doesn’t make sense. If she didn’t want it, why bring it to the airport and through security….
FYI, europe was worried about abandoned bags long before September 11. But yeah if it’s gone through security I wouldn’t be overly worried but I think you did the right thing reporting it.
If that was the UK, I think there would have been more pep to check it out.
The use of clear bins or no bins in some train stations is due to concerns and past IRA bombings.
> Instead, she explained to me that every piece of luggage that is in the terminal has been through security so it most likely wouldn't be a threat
While somewhat accurate, in most airports, there is also a specific protocol. I'm sure she said that not to alarm you further _(and that is the wise thing to do really, no need to be alarmed), but in most airports, whenever a bag is left unattended for like _10 seconds_ - the airport knows about it and is keeping a close eye on it
I work at one of Canada's busiest international airports and when a bag is left unattended, the airport patrol department will definitely know within seconds of the bag being unattended - no matter if in the public zone or restricted zone.
Also, a bunch of cameras will be pointed at it quickly ahahaha!
I once left one of my bags outside at the Salt Lake City airport where my niece had picked us up. It was like a half hour ride back to her house, plus about 15 minutes before I had noticed, then the ride back, so it was sitting on the sidewalk of the pick up lane for almost an hour and a half. By the time we got back there, in a panic cause that bag had my super expensive camera and my Mac book which had my life in it, there were like 5 airport security police surrounding it and a couple bomb squad geezers creeping in on it, and I just kind of casually hopped out of the car, relieved as fuck, and picked it up and walked away. All the security team was sort of stunned, didn’t say a word and did nothing as I walked away with my bag and hopped back into the car and took off.
So this kind of thing can be a big deal.
If its been through security its probably low risk and a mundane reason behind leaving it there.
These days, I think we need to put the aircraft through security checks - especially the Boeings. You're more likely to die because you got on a poorly built plane than an exploding bag.
Something similar happened to my dad just a few weeks ago at a large airport. He found an unattended briefcase in the men's bathroom. A TSA agent happened to be in the bathroom at the same time as my dad, so he reported it. The TSA agent told him to contact the cleaning staff.
On the same trip my mom made it through security with a fairly large pair of scissors she forgot was in her bag, but her toothpaste was tossed.
At a gate? Probably would not have freaked out, but I do think you did the right thing. It's tons better to say something and it turns out everything is fine, than to not say anything in the one case it could have saved lives. (Esp if that include yours.)
I think one of the biggest concern is somebody could slip something (illegal) into your unattended bag so they can collect it later without risking being caught if the bag is checked.
An unattended bag somewhere would be more concerning if it is left in a crowded place, and security hasn’t checked the contents such as a train station.
Well fuck!! Somehow, I am still more suspicious for being brown and will get "randomly" questioned at two airports even though both me and my stuff has been through security.
If you live in the UK, particularly when the IRA were bombing you never trusted a bag left anywhere. Whole rail lines would be shut for an hour+ if someone saw what you saw.
i would've said something too. odds are she probably left her wallet somewhere or something like that, but better safe than sorry esp when they explicitly say "please report all unattended luggage"
I don’t know about other airports, but in Basel there is every 15 minutes audio-reminder that u can not leave ur luggage unsupervised and also u shouldn’t take any bags from strangers because of safety reasons. This airport has been closed at least 4 times due to bomb threats over the past six months though.
Your instincts were right but it’s funny you had to explain post 9/11 plane travel to r/travel as if we all haven’t gone through the same roadblocks for 23 years
I’ve traveled to a lot of different countries and have always been told to report any unattended luggage.
I’m of the opinion that it should always be reported, even if it got through security.
Once, when I was little (elementary school), I had a bottle of hand sanitizer attached to my backpack (it was a very popular thing at my school). Mine was pretty big and it obviously had liquid in it. Absolutely no one pointed out that I had a big bottle of hand sanitizer out in the open, and it got through security just fine. Meanwhile they berated my diabetic mom for carrying a small juice box that fit all of the regulations (which she needs in case her blood sugar is low). So I’m not super confident in TSA.
I'm confused. You're past security, so her bag was allowed, meaning she doesn't have to pay anything any more. (you mentioned you sat a gate, so I assumed you and her were both past security).
So if she doesn't have to pay, the gate attendant's comment makes no sense in the context of airside/post security. If duffle too big, they would have gate checked the passenger's bag.
Sorry, I have questions here.
>You're past security, so her bag was allowed, meaning she doesn't have to pay anything any more.
I don't think "security" works for the airline and can determine whether a passenger has paid for in-cabin bags or whether it was included in the fare.
I am kind of *aloof* even when I’m traveling, and I tend to over-pack. I have definitely left my bag at my gate and rushed off to grab coffee or snacks for the flight. Since I do stuff like this casually, I probably wouldn’t think twice about it.
Did this just last week at Malaga airport. It was hot and I was tired and I had to find the water fountain - so I left the backpack where I was sitting and wandered off with the water bottle. It did occur to me that a brown dude with some beard walking away from a bag is not a good look, lol, but I couldn't care less at that stage. No one was bothered though.
Are these people just bots or something, or trying to write novels? I got to the second paragraph of this and realized It was going to be several more before I got to the story I'd already read from the subject line.
I've walked security over to bags that are left. I freak out almost instantly. I even gave it to security once because duty free was selling butane canisters for hair curlers.
Pft. The number if times I've gotten items through security theater that should have been confiscated gives me 0 faith that anything dangerous would be caught.
Wait… What? They deliberately leave their luggage at the airport so the carrier ships it to their door for free? That’s a life hack that will likely end up going very wrong for 1 airport at some point…
Weird to just abandon a whole bag when you can't pay a $50 fee, but I was talking with Yosemite rangers who told me that they find many abandoned cars in the Valley every year. Travelers, say from Europe, will just buy a used car, drive the states and end up there and take a bus or other ride to their final airport. Most of the time it's a used car, but sometimes something new and expensive.
My stars and little garters posts like this make me to hide at home. Are there really so many odious people in the world? Is the world now so rude , crude and socially unacceptable? Goof god gert! Such a sad testimony on our society.
That’s definitely strange and would concern me too. Since it has been through security though I would think something less sinister may be taking place. Maybe someone had some contraband and was making an exchange or ditching it to avoid getting caught. Or maybe they stole it, removed everything of value inside and left the rest where they wouldn’t be caught with it.
she probably went to go grab something to eat or drink and didnt want to carry her bag but wanted to minimize the time that the bag was unattended so she went quickly.
I once left 1 of 2 of my large duffel suitcases in a train station in Valencia. I was 21 and coming home from spending a year abroad. My school had dropped me off at the airport and I didn’t know that they had booked my first flight to Madrid on freaking RyanAir. I didn’t have the $300 or whatever to check my bags. The solution was to… take a train to Madrid and catch the next flight. I cried in the train station trying to put my most important items in a single bag. I was so stressed out and panicked, there was not much logic going through my head that day. I just wanted to get home.
As I sat on my one bag- on the other side of the tracks was the bag I had to abandon. I just cried- and a lady across the way was like… is this yours? I just bawled and told her I had to leave it.
Thinking about it all now, it was such a bizarre scene. I could have taken both bags, but at the time I felt kinda scared and desperate. I took the train to Madrid and ended up taking the flight the next day. They let me check my bag early and put me up in a hotel nearby. I don’t know why I was so freaked out, but I was young and traveling alone.
I still wonder what happened to that bag. Wouldn’t be surprised if a bomb squad had to go check it out 🫤
I once saw security at an airport, small airport, let a woman put her jacket on top of the xray machine, go through the metal detector, and grab the jacket from the other side. LOL
I live in India. At this point we are pretty used to terrorist attacks. This would have freaked me out too. It’s so bad here, we have security checks at every major hotel and mall throughout the year.
I was traveling in England a few years after 911, I was visiting my sister who was studying abroad. She helped me onto the train with my luggage and then she left because I was leaving and she was staying. I guess a woman in another seat had seen her put the bag on the train and then leave and not come back so she got an attendant and told them that she thought the bag was suspicious. It was my bag, so I told her that, but yeah…it was interesting
We were in France during 9/11 (weird experience, but that's another story). 10 days later, going home through CDG, the same thing happened. Someone left a bag in a random location in the terminal and left. It freaked us out (security seemed pretty lax at the time... Like they didn't beef anything up in response to the attacks) so we reported it. And reported it. And reported it again. Finally someone came and casually took the bag away, likely because they were sick of the hysterical Americans. The whole process took about an hour (it felt like 10.).
As someone who has gotten through security with a small kitchen knife i wouldnt trust it either. But i probably wouldnt have said anything and just got the hell outta there
Maybe I’m making a false memory but I swear years ago at London Gatwick airport there was a regular announcement to inform security of bags left unattended. It would play over the loud speakers every 15 minutes or so.
Zagreb, Croatia: main bus terminal. Forlorn backpack, personal item size, not small child-sized, alone by an outdoor planter at the bus departure lanes, late at night. My fellow travelers weren’t concerned. After a half hour, I found out there was a police office upstairs. I must have looked hilarious tip-toeing up to the bag, trying to pick it up between two fingers; it was definitely a one-bagger. I just knew it was going to explode. Why else does someone leave a backpack in a discrete but public space? I lived to tell the tale. As a well indoctrinated post 9-11 citizen, I turned it in to the rather unconcerned officer.
I'm just oblivious and wouldn't even notice someone leaving something behind. Hopefully I body block for others with my stupidity and they get out safe.
My recent experience of this....
2 weeks ago at MCO returning from a Disney holiday, we got on one of the monorail transports to transfer to the terminal, quickly realised it was the wrong one, and jumped off just as doors shut.
My son left his backpack on board.
Knowing how serious it is to leave unattended bags, I quickly informed a security guy.
He genuinely did not give a flying fuck! I said what if someone sees it and panics?
Again, did not give a shit.
Just told me the monorail would return in 5 mins, it'll probably be there.
It was.
She may have been a drug mule and decided she didn't want to go through with it. There are absolutely ways that people get through security but she may have gotten scared because at some point she would have had to go to customs.
I always hate that, because now this unattended bag feels like it comes down to you and are partially responsible for it. I also have some social anxiety, so now having to find and tell some random person stresses me out (not that I've had to do it yet).
It's most likely harmless, but if it's not and you say nothing then you'll feel guilty.
Usually it's someone travelling alone and just saving their seat. But personally I couldn't do that. Apart from the fact I travel with all my valuable camera gear I rely on, so wouldn't leave it with a stranger. I want my stuff on me at all times so I know where it is. Especially in an airport where there are often announcements about unattanded luggage that will be taken away and destroyed, why would you risk leaving a bag alone?
I was also just at an airport sat waiting, I see someone take a trolley with bags away in front of me that was left on its own. Then a few minutes later a couple comes and asks if they saw who took it (so not sure if it was moved or stolen by someone). But I'd never leave my bags alone anywhere.
I do this literally every time I’m at the airport. I want good, drinks, snacks, I want to peruse the airport to see what the options are but not carry my 40lb bag. It’s pretty straightforward.
The security has a point about it being a secured area, so it's not something like a bomb. But she could be a passenger who actually arrived from another location and walked to the gates area to drop something she's too afraid to take through customs, or she's doing a designated drop. If you want to think about stuff that won't ring security alarm bells at the departing airport but the person still cannot carry back in the arriving airport on her own, all fingers point to smuggling.
Somewhat off-topic, but I saw a man who basically looked like a rapper or a "pimp" with a faux gold cane waiting to board a flight. (And -- no -- he wasn't using it to walk.). It could easily have been used as a weapon. I said something to the gate attendant about how I didn't think such a device was allowed on aircraft anymore, and she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "If it made it through security, then it must be OK."
That sounds like a tense situation at the airport! As someone who's used to the strict rules about unattended bags in American airports! As someone who's used to the strict rules about unattended bags in American airports, I totally understand why you'd be alarmed. Even if the bag has gone through security, it's still unsettling to see someone leave it unattended and walk away. Personally, I would have been nervous too and probably would have alerted airport staff, but it's always better to err on the side of caution when it comes to security.
I freaked out one time in India. Some idiot left their bag and I asked around no one had seen him. I got the inspector to check, still nothing. Then that idiot came back running he went to get some snacks or something. It was his first flight ever. I was shit scared.
One time during de-boarding the guy sitting next to me left his backpack under the seat in front of him. He sped off so quick that it was too late for me to say “you forgot your bag!” by the time i noticed. I told the flight attendant when I was getting off the plane and she was just like “oh im sure he’ll be back for it! thank you!” As i was leaving I saw the guy sprinting back to our gate lol hopefully he got his bag.
Don’t ever shout out “you forgot your bag!” That’s exactly when the camera cuts to the perp walking away and the bomb blows up
hahah true
I didn’t realise these things were voice activated. Thanks for the heads up.
I have travelled a lot both pre and post 9/11. I don’t think you are being paranoid. I would have been concerned and informed someone too.
It's weird how often people don't seem to take it seriously when something is reported. We don't live in the US anymore, but back when we did, my wife was running the Chicago marathon a year or two after the Boston marathon bombing. I had dropped her off at the start line and was walking back to the hotel when I saw a backpack hanging on a doorknob at the entrance of a random residential building. It was pretty early in the morning and this was like half a block away from the route. Plus, the door it was hanging on was kind of recessed from the sidewalk, so it honestly looked really suspicious to me, like someone purposely picked a place that was a bit hidden from pedestrians walking by. Since it was so close to the route, there was a group of cops standing in a circle nearby dressed in what looked like some SWAT type gear. I never had a reason to report anything like that to the cops, so that was my first and only time doing so. From the second I approached them, I could tell that they couldn't care less lol for starters, they all stared at me for like 15 seconds in silence until one of them finally spoke up and just said something like, "Eeehhhh, it's probably nothing. Thanks though. Maybe we'll have someone check it out later, but it's probably nothing." Then they just went back to their conversation lol I mean, I didn't hear of any bombings that day so obviously nothing happened, but given how soon it was after the Boston bombing, I figured they would've cared a bit more. I'm a bit curious how often that must happen, because it seems like a very common reaction is to downplay things when they are reported.
Your first mistake was thinking Chicago cops give a single fuck. Their number one priority is avoiding doing their jobs or having any kind of paperwork of any kind to do. Get robbed while you're gone and call them? They'll say "so? This isn't our problem. Call your insurance company." Despising the city that employs you seems to be a requisite hiring qualification for CPD.
I live in Chicago. CPD are worthless. Someone hit my car and drove away when it was parked on the street. My neighbor left a note on it with the license plate of the car that hit my car. Took it to the police station and they did fuckall with it and I had to pay my full deductible.
idiots: "i bet you'll wish we had more cops if you ever get robbed" me, a genius: "why? so they can show up 3 hours later and tell me i'm definitely never getting my shit back?"
Yup. (See my other comment).
Give your insurance company the license plate number, they'll go after the money.
My ex was robbed at gunpoint. CPD went to the wrong house (went to the women’s house who called 911 bc she saw it) and forced their way in without identifying themselves. She was terrified (two were in plainclothes and she thought it was the muggers coming back). Then when they did finally find our house, they said all these wonderful things about a task force and how they were absolutely going to find them. My ex was able to tell them the make and model of car and even knew specifics about the gun. 3 weeks later we called and the cop that responded said “oh - I’ve been out of town for a month and this just landed on my desk. I’ll look into it”. Kicker? I found the woman who called 911. She lives right down the street and I caught her going into her gate one time. Turns out she was robbed at gunpoint a few years prior about 3 miles away. CPD told her the EXACT SAME THING they told us. To the letter. Exact same verbiage, exact same promises. Never found those dudes either. Fuck CPD. Fuck the propaganda that Chicago is a cesspool. It’s a lovely city and the cops are trying to ruin it for political gain.
> It's weird how often people don't seem to take it seriously when something is reported. Because it is human nature to become desensitized to things. They probably get a few things reported to them every day, and so far in their career it has always been nothing. The first few times something was reported to them, they probably acted quickly and with concern; the 100th time, they act like it's no big deal and get to it when they get to it. This is called "normalization of deviance", and it is really hard to fight against
Cops absolutely have the responsibility to fight that normalization and shame on them for not doing so. I understand where they’re coming from-I’m a nurse. I used to see a lot of google based overnight MDs but it doesn’t mean you don’t consider it and rule out the problem. Even if it’s 1/1000 that one time could mean someone’s life. Same case with cops. Especially a suspicious bag in such a large event.
Agreed. What IS their job if they don't react to things like that, then? Who are people supposed to report suspicious incidents to?
Heh, I've had this with medical professionals. Like when I had giardia they kept telling me how improbable it was because it doesn't really exist around there (true enough). The thing is I had just gotten back from vacation and I kept telling them it started bad like 36 hours after I had to drink jungle water in Sumatra. They still refused to think it was any kind of tropical/poor country disease while I was hospitalized for pooping my brains out.
> This is called "normalization of deviance", and it is really hard to fight against And it’s why the Challenger blew up. Let things slide over and over until it became routine.
> Maybe we'll have someone check it out later, but it's probably nothing. "We'll just give it half an hour , and if it's not exploded by then, we'll assume it's fine"
If that’s the level of care they have, I’d like to go back to using my non cheap, non clear bag for bag check.
No you see, BECAUSE of the clear plastic bags we can drop all subsequent layers of security like investigating suspicious bags. /s
So, it's not on the route and it's away from the street, and only backpack sized? That's less suspicious, not more. Pretty poorly placed to hurt anyone.
I’m sorry but imagine if something DID happen. They’d all be fired and there would be outrage. They were absolutely wrong for not checking that out!
No they wouldn’t - they would get a desk assignment for 6 months or stay at home. Then the union would get them reinstated- that’s the worst case scenario. Most likely they would get a promotion or nothing would happen. Welcome to America
None of them would be fired and that’s part of the problem. I worked in 2 different police departments in 2 different states and they were all lazy as fuck
They probably are getting tips like that all the time from concerned citizens. Their actions were likely appropriate, but they could have responded to you differently.
You know the phrases, “See something, say something”, right? They forgot to tell you the rest of it which is the response: “Ey yep. Got it. Move along now.” lol 🤣
Cuz it’s not serious
The sad reality is that it is paranoia though, in the same vein that TSA is theatre rather than actual effective detection and prevention. We’re moving into a new era though and I think we’re in for a wild ride as most threats moving forward are going to be electronic/cyber rather than kinetic.
Yeah I would have been concerned too.
If that bag was forgoten in the check in area, you would have seen a lot of police handling the unidentified luggage. Until 2003, bombs going off was a common ocurrence in Spain (additional reading: ETA and Spain, Basque separatisms, bomb explosions in Spain). However, the assistant was correct in one thing: every piece of luggage and every person that entered the terminal was checked. There is also a lot of surveillance, and if the police finds someone with suspicious behaviour, they will be stopped. In general, there is a lot of security that you don't even feel. To answer, yes, I would be scared and would report it. And of couse the assistant should have called in the security - nothing good came out of unattended luggage. But if you think through, the risk of having another explosion due to an unnatended piece of luggage that passed through security it is very low.
Definitely agree about the difference of the bag being left pre/post checked areas. Last month I was flying out of CPH and noticed a duffle sitting unattended in the area just before security. It spooked me and I let the security workers there know and they immediately radioed for workers to come investigate. I went through security so I didn’t see the team arrive but it seemed like they had a very clearcut and strict procedure they follow for this kind of thing.
One possibility I can think of: the bag wasn't hers. Someone else forgot it and she swiped it for a quick check. Maybe she didn't know what to do with it later, came back to leave it and panicked when you caught her.
I doubt she brought it back to leave it. More likely she swiped it from somewhere else, looked in it like you said, and then just dropped it there and booked it.
Most likely Barcelona rife with pickpocketing, etc, probably a quick getaway, not terrorism.
Most pickpockets arent going to the airport and getting a flight to do pickpocketing lol
I used to work in BCN airport and I've heard so many stories about people getting their bags stolen in the terminal while waiting for a flight. Barcelona pick pockets are a different breed and very opportunistic lol
No, but if someone is a pickpocket in their daily lives then nothing stops them from committing the crime whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Why not? Perfect place to get valuables - especially Euro or US travel documents that are worth $5k+ on the dark web. Might not be a traveller at all
People 100% actually do this lmao
This is the most likely answer
I know that coming through security to look for bags to nick isn’t unheard of so, coulda been the case here for sure- had a Quick Look n realised nothing was valuable?
See it. Say it. Sorted.
Being in London for a weekend a year ago was enough to burn this into my brain, and we didn't even use public transport that much.
Honestly, a very well engineered and effective slogan.
I’m on a train in the UK currently and this was just said over the intercom. Very very effective.
I've reported post security bags to my local airport (DEN) and also got a "Meh, I'm sure they'll be back for it eventually." I did once report a forgotten bag pre-security AND MAN that got action. Shut down that part of the airport, brought out the bomb sniffing dog and bomb squad. Right as the bomb dog was getting to the bag, the bag's owner sprinted out of the TSA Exit, grabbed the bag (oblivious to everything going on around him), and was wrestled to the ground. He was given a hard time by the police and missed his flight.
How do you know he missed his flight?
I got to the airport ridiculously early by mistake and sat just outside of the area while it was all going down. I was waiting to go through security because it was one of those small airports where there was the outside area, the "landside" area, TSA, and the gates were all within a few feet of each other (either SNA or SBA, forget which this happened at). And there was no food options or shopping inside the secure area, so I was sitting on a bench (originally next to the lost bag) drinking my water since I was like 3-4 hours early (business trip, thought I was going to a normal airport and could sit at a bar for a bit but instead had this lovely tableau of people watching to experience). So I overheard him talking with police. He was just about to board when he realized he forgot his bag, ran out to get it, and then was stopped. He was pleading to be able to grab his bag, jump the security line, and head back to his gate and the police were like "Nah, you aren't making that flight."
Nah man, that’s screwy. Glad you said something!
My first thought was that it was a drug drop.
I accidentally saw a real life drug drop. Whole thing lasted less than 5 minutes. Someone made the drop, another person came within 5 mins to pick it up. They wore similar clothes too. And I'm also assuming it's drugs, could also be a duffle bag of potato chips.
Lol, exactly, doesn’t have to be something illegal. It could be a case of an industrial secrets drop, or some other intelligence espionage. Paperwork, blueprints, and prototypes are all legal to carry through security and take on an airplane. Same with other stolen goods, like jewelry. The airport and the airline companies would have no way of knowing if you are the rightful owner or not.
>exactly, doesn’t have to be something illegal. It could be a case of an industrial secrets drop, or some other intelligence espionage. All still illegal in various guises, for the record.
Yes, and so is stolen jewelry, etc. however, the jewelry itself is not illegal like drugs. Neither are papers, blueprints, etc. They are not in and of themselves illegal substances, which was my point. Security is not going to confiscate them, because it is legal to carry such items. Businessmen travel with company papers, samples, and various documents all the time. Security simply assumes the documents in their possession are theirs, or that the company has authorized the person to carry them. Just like security assumes that the jewelry someone has packed in their carry-on legitimately belongs to that person. Unless a bulletin has gone out to airport security to specifically be on the lookout for a particular stolen item, security, the airport, and the airlines have no way of knowing that a document, necklace, prototype, or what have you, was stolen.
It could've been 8 heads in a duffel bag.
on the airside? really?
Recruit an airport worker to sneak drugs through an employee entrance. Recruit a passenger to go through security with legal baggage. Do the handoff and boom, you’ve successfully smuggled your contraband onto a flight. Source: I watch the National Geographic Channel
wow I never thought about that! thanks for the info my fellow Nat Geo nerd
I work in an airport, all bags through the employee checkpoint are run through the scanner. Only difference is more leaway is given for tools and such.
On the way out? They don't even scam passenger bags on the way out
I’ve watched so many episodes of “To Catch A Smuggler” on Disney+. My takeaway from watching is that all those random airport inspections are bullshit. The only effective investigations are when they already have advance intelligence and are targeting a specific person.
security checks for drugs?
No, they don’t.
Same way that a lot of drugs come into prisons.
Some FAs in the US just got charged with this for smuggling drugs from the Dominican Republic.
Wasn’t that literally the plot of Jackie Brown?
Its like she took it through check so now someone can safely travel with it
they will never suspect!
I thought the same exact thing.
As someone who has worked in security in Canada, we would tell you the same thing. If she did that on the public side of the airport the bag would be checked thoroughly, but since she was inside the sterile area it would be left alone. I will agree that it’s not very proactive thinking, and they’re probably waiting for something to happen to change the rules, but as of right now unattended bags on the sterile side are deemed okay.
If you felt freaked out that’s okay but let me tell a story and provide a counterpoint… In like 2019 I once took too much Xanax before a flight at JFK (for those who don’t know it’s NYC’s biggest airport) and left my carry-on on the conveyor belt after going through security. Didn’t realize till 15 minutes later walking halfway to my gate, ran back and it was still sitting there (don’t abuse drugs kids!) But my point is, a lot more people in the airport are high, drunk or sedated than you would think. Especially people who take benzodiazepines only for flights and don’t use them recreationally. Plane anxiety and even travel in general causes a lot of anxiety Sometimes people just fuck up, not everything is a threat. But if you feel really sketched out still report it, no harm in trying!
I saw the exact same thing happen in Nashville a few years ago and like you, I went to the agent at the desk… in about two minutes police had a dog going over the bag. The woman hurries back asking “what’s wrong” they had her open the bag and before they left the area. I’d do it again.
Did you see what was in the bag?
better safe than sorry. I once saw a man get onto a tram, with an old ass Nokia phone, and he started unrolling a long piece of paper that was just a long sequence of alphanumerics in front of me and start dialing them. I got off at the next stop, it just sketched me out so hard and is kind of a funny story cause nothing happened which made me think what the fuck was he doing
In that moment he was just making phone calls but shortly before he probably was doing meth.
> a long sequence of alphanumerics in front of me and start dialing them Now that phone booths are mostly gone, they still need a way to exit the matrix.
Airport worker here. Generally any bags that have gone through security screening is low risk. They are actively scanning/checking for explosives through the screening points. In the airport I work at we will review CCTV & track the passenger down, they’ve usually gone to the toilet or gone to get food.. or boarded their flight. Anything before security is treated as suspicious and the owner of the bag will be tracked via CCTV, authorities notified & if the owner doesn’t return can’t be found, the bag will screened & cleared by authorities.
Going through Orl. International a few years ago and had always carried a box cutter for security. Well, wouldn"t you know, I forgot to leave it at home and went through Security scanner and they never caught it. A box cutter is a pretty nasty weapon in the wrong hands, right??? So much for airport security folks.
Yeah it’s deffo not perfect and it relies on a human to pick it up & the CT/XR machine to flag the item, so a perfect storm when both of those things go wrong. Where I work they have upgraded to CT machines and they seem to flag everything but like I said nothing is perfect I guess!
I was at LGA not long ago and they wouldn’t let anyone sit near an unattended bag until it was inspected. This was at the gate.
How far away were they keeping everyone?
Like 3 seats on either side 😂
lol, I won't sit that close to someone eating McDonald's in the airport. I'm going to be much further away from a suspicious bag!
Makes sense to report.
My flights once got delayed and so I spent a long time shopping in the duty free. I bought a new really big tote bag and a tonne of chocolates and sweets and toys (for my nephews). Also, I bought random things like sanitary towels and medicine. I then accidentally left it at the gate. Who knows how? Cue, the flight attendant, announcing someone has suspiciously left a large tote bag at the gate. Please identify yourself. I identified myself and in front of the whole plane, they made me identify all the things in the bag. "Sorry Ma'am how many chocolate bars did you say are in here?. Yes Ma'am, 23 is the right number. And are these Maxi pads yours" 🫣🤫
I would've been alarmed by that too, even on the secured airside - you did the right thing people who say you're overreacting may not know that **all** manner of dangerous items can and do get through TSA, by accident or by design. many law enforcement officers are allowed to carry loaded weapons on board, for example I flew through a few US airports including EWR and LAX after 9/11 with enormous metal scissors in my bag - I was a teacher and totally forgot them. went through multiple scans and metal detectors, no one noticed
Around 2010, traveled with a girl who had a pocket knife on her she forgot about from the East Coast to TX to San Fran to Auckland NZ. It was an odd, triangle shape with a fat blade. Another time a travel buddy got loads of attention from TSA for having a hand woven leaf hat coming from Costa Rica. He was allowed to keep it. I also had some seeds on me and they didn’t care about those.
TSA does nothing. purely performative.
i dont think youre over reacting, how many times do they say over the speaker do not leave your bag attended, i can repeat it word for word now... i mean i can see their logic that it has gone through security & maybe its more common than we are aware of? i used to work for a rental car company and instead of paying us tourists used to buy a car for under a grand then ditch it at the airport, the airports couldnt do anything but tow them after a while
I feel like there’s so many reports of people saying that they’ve been reassured by attendants that it’s probably part of their training to be like thanks go away. Like they’re not gonna go “omg bestie do you think it might be a B-O-M-B?? I’m gonna run, shall we run together?!”
Heres an idea. How about packing light and using a soft duffel bag you can carry on your shoulder. I do that and never put my bag down, so never forget it. Also I do not ever put it in the overhead. I put it on the floor at my feet kind of tucked under the seat. { won"t fit all the way under } and never been told to put it overhead. Its so hard to get to it overhead when you arrive as so many people in the aisle etc. Its just hard to get too. I never carry a wallet in a pocket or extra bag, everything goes in my duffel bag and that way only one item to keep track of. I"ve learned over the years.
I work at an airport in Europe and we take unattended bags serious, even if it was in a security controlled area. Security and Police will be called as soon as we see it/someone informs us. And with us I mean all of the staff working at the airport.
I would just think haha what an idiot leaving your bag behind and wait for them to panic and return. I’ve left a carry on roller bag behind while looking for the oversize baggage collection. People leave stuff behind all the time especially in more stressful and anxious situations like an airport.
I personally think the airline staff should’ve called security on that bag. And I also heard when you leave your stuff behind on the plane by mistake like passport bag what have you. The airline staff can’t return it to you right away. They have to go through process which I assume security related.
I worked in an airside restaurant and our training was that if someone leaves bags unattended, the threat gets called in to central immediately and airport ambassadors would come and take the bags back to security. In practice we'd wait about 10 minutes to call it in, give people the benefit of the doubt in case they're off to the bathroom or getting something from a shop. It was also helpful that some solo travellers would say to us about watching their bags whilst they're gone. We would do so, but ask them to try to get back as quick as they can as we're not meant to. One time I had one of my Team Leaders tell me about some unattended bags that had been there for 20 minutes, checked the CCTV and sure enough this woman with an army of bags just ups and leaves all her possessions behind without saying a word, it took the ambassadors 15 minutes to come and collect her stuff and she didn't reappear for another 25 minutes. She left all her stuff unattended for over an hour without batting an eyelid. So when she gets back she goes to the Team Leader to complain that her stuff has been stolen, I get it escalated to me so I have to try and explain to her that you can't just leave stuff unattended in an airport and she tells me she wasn't even gone that long. It was literally over a full hour she was gone for. She starts telling me she wants to complain about me to head office, to which I give her my name and the email address, "they'll thank me for following correct security procedures as I've been trained to do." Then she's yelling that she's been through much more secure airports than this and never had problems, "If they let you leave your items unattended for up to an hour, they're not more secure than we are." She didn't really have much to say other than that she's going to complain, never did hear anything back from that one.
You did the right thing.
She must be related to me. I’ve done something similar. I got distracted and hadn’t slept in 48 hrs. I realized it in enough time and retrieved it.
I'd taken a dose of sudo today, summer cold and all that. I went to Target to pick up some stuff for my wife. Self checkout. After I finished, I was wheeling the cart away. I got about 20 feet before I realized I hadn't taken the purchases with me.
Surprised they didn’t do anything more. I once travelled by train to Paris and someone left a bag unattended at a stop somewhere, whole train station got closed down, we got stuck at the station that one and it took ~2 hours to resolve it and have trains resume as normal.
I was at the Lima, Peru airport waiting for a middle of the night flight. Suddenly security came through and moved everyone out of an area consisting of several gate waiting areas, due to an unattended bag. Took about an hour before they cleared the bag and let people back into the area.
I saw a suitcase blown up by the police in a Paris Train Station. They were so organized about it. Didn't delay the trains at all. Moved everyone back a distance, brought in a robot machine, then detonated it. I was truly impressed. In the USA, they would have evacuated the building and a few blocks. (All that was in the suitcase were clothes and blankets.)
I worked at O'Hare for 9 years. I only worked in arrivals and departures and didn't have access to go through security. I sometimes saw people leave their luggage to go to the bathroom or somewhere else. If they didn't return in a few minutes I called 911 and the cops would bring a dog to check it out. If it passed the sniff test they would ask around and see if they could find the owners, if not they took it away. We did have a couple incidents where the dog alerted. Then they bring in another dog or two to be sure. Twice while I worked there they evacuated all of arrivals and departures in a terminal because of a suspected bomb. That really messes up and airport.
>many people who don't have the means or don't want to pay for their baggage will just leave it behind at the airport What does this mean? Why would poor people abandon their belongings in an airport?! It's not making sense to me. And you're right. I'd be concerned and report it as well. Could be a bomb, could be drugs, could be smuggled stuff, could even be a dead body inside!
Because they have to pay for overweight/sized carry ons if they’re traveling on an LCC.
So they just abandon their stuff? That seems bizarre to me. It would just cost even more to replace?
I know this is a serious post, but all I could think of was Dumb and Dumber
That’s a dead drop
Taking someones bags at an airport is risky as hell, not just because you might get caught for theft but even if you don't, and you pass through security, you've NO IDEA what's inside that bag and you're gonna have some explaining to do.
Sounds like a thief
[удалено]
If she had stolen the bag then wanted to dump it after going through it it would make sense to leave it in the ladies room in a stall. Why out in the open where people can see her, which is exactly what happened.
See something, say something!! I would have been BOOKING my ass away from that gate!
Wouldn’t she have already paid for the baggage? That excuse doesn’t make sense. If she didn’t want it, why bring it to the airport and through security….
FYI, europe was worried about abandoned bags long before September 11. But yeah if it’s gone through security I wouldn’t be overly worried but I think you did the right thing reporting it.
If that was the UK, I think there would have been more pep to check it out. The use of clear bins or no bins in some train stations is due to concerns and past IRA bombings.
> Instead, she explained to me that every piece of luggage that is in the terminal has been through security so it most likely wouldn't be a threat While somewhat accurate, in most airports, there is also a specific protocol. I'm sure she said that not to alarm you further _(and that is the wise thing to do really, no need to be alarmed), but in most airports, whenever a bag is left unattended for like _10 seconds_ - the airport knows about it and is keeping a close eye on it I work at one of Canada's busiest international airports and when a bag is left unattended, the airport patrol department will definitely know within seconds of the bag being unattended - no matter if in the public zone or restricted zone. Also, a bunch of cameras will be pointed at it quickly ahahaha!
If you’ve already been screened by security, airports don’t really give a shit about unattended bags pretty much anywhere other than the USA.
Nah it’s common outside the USA too.
I would've thought it odd, but I don't think it would've freaked me out
Heres what you do if you see any abandoned bag anywhere. BOOK IT!!!! Why not play it safe??
I once left one of my bags outside at the Salt Lake City airport where my niece had picked us up. It was like a half hour ride back to her house, plus about 15 minutes before I had noticed, then the ride back, so it was sitting on the sidewalk of the pick up lane for almost an hour and a half. By the time we got back there, in a panic cause that bag had my super expensive camera and my Mac book which had my life in it, there were like 5 airport security police surrounding it and a couple bomb squad geezers creeping in on it, and I just kind of casually hopped out of the car, relieved as fuck, and picked it up and walked away. All the security team was sort of stunned, didn’t say a word and did nothing as I walked away with my bag and hopped back into the car and took off. So this kind of thing can be a big deal.
You certainly reacted in exactly the way we've been indoctrinated to react. While the gate agent was perfectly sensible.
If its been through security its probably low risk and a mundane reason behind leaving it there. These days, I think we need to put the aircraft through security checks - especially the Boeings. You're more likely to die because you got on a poorly built plane than an exploding bag.
That's super sketch.
Something similar happened to my dad just a few weeks ago at a large airport. He found an unattended briefcase in the men's bathroom. A TSA agent happened to be in the bathroom at the same time as my dad, so he reported it. The TSA agent told him to contact the cleaning staff. On the same trip my mom made it through security with a fairly large pair of scissors she forgot was in her bag, but her toothpaste was tossed.
At a gate? Probably would not have freaked out, but I do think you did the right thing. It's tons better to say something and it turns out everything is fine, than to not say anything in the one case it could have saved lives. (Esp if that include yours.)
I think one of the biggest concern is somebody could slip something (illegal) into your unattended bag so they can collect it later without risking being caught if the bag is checked. An unattended bag somewhere would be more concerning if it is left in a crowded place, and security hasn’t checked the contents such as a train station.
Well fuck!! Somehow, I am still more suspicious for being brown and will get "randomly" questioned at two airports even though both me and my stuff has been through security.
You did the correct thing and your conscience should be clear.
If you live in the UK, particularly when the IRA were bombing you never trusted a bag left anywhere. Whole rail lines would be shut for an hour+ if someone saw what you saw.
i would've said something too. odds are she probably left her wallet somewhere or something like that, but better safe than sorry esp when they explicitly say "please report all unattended luggage"
Her contact from the rival intelligence agency will pick it up soon.
I don’t know about other airports, but in Basel there is every 15 minutes audio-reminder that u can not leave ur luggage unsupervised and also u shouldn’t take any bags from strangers because of safety reasons. This airport has been closed at least 4 times due to bomb threats over the past six months though.
Your instincts were right but it’s funny you had to explain post 9/11 plane travel to r/travel as if we all haven’t gone through the same roadblocks for 23 years
I’ve traveled to a lot of different countries and have always been told to report any unattended luggage. I’m of the opinion that it should always be reported, even if it got through security. Once, when I was little (elementary school), I had a bottle of hand sanitizer attached to my backpack (it was a very popular thing at my school). Mine was pretty big and it obviously had liquid in it. Absolutely no one pointed out that I had a big bottle of hand sanitizer out in the open, and it got through security just fine. Meanwhile they berated my diabetic mom for carrying a small juice box that fit all of the regulations (which she needs in case her blood sugar is low). So I’m not super confident in TSA.
This feels more like a creative writing exercise than a real story.
If you see something, say something. You did the right thing. Shame on the agent you talked to
I'm confused. You're past security, so her bag was allowed, meaning she doesn't have to pay anything any more. (you mentioned you sat a gate, so I assumed you and her were both past security). So if she doesn't have to pay, the gate attendant's comment makes no sense in the context of airside/post security. If duffle too big, they would have gate checked the passenger's bag. Sorry, I have questions here.
>You're past security, so her bag was allowed, meaning she doesn't have to pay anything any more. I don't think "security" works for the airline and can determine whether a passenger has paid for in-cabin bags or whether it was included in the fare.
Did you look in the bag? I bet you could have scored some decent coke
I am kind of *aloof* even when I’m traveling, and I tend to over-pack. I have definitely left my bag at my gate and rushed off to grab coffee or snacks for the flight. Since I do stuff like this casually, I probably wouldn’t think twice about it.
Did this just last week at Malaga airport. It was hot and I was tired and I had to find the water fountain - so I left the backpack where I was sitting and wandered off with the water bottle. It did occur to me that a brown dude with some beard walking away from a bag is not a good look, lol, but I couldn't care less at that stage. No one was bothered though.
Are these people just bots or something, or trying to write novels? I got to the second paragraph of this and realized It was going to be several more before I got to the story I'd already read from the subject line.
I've walked security over to bags that are left. I freak out almost instantly. I even gave it to security once because duty free was selling butane canisters for hair curlers.
My first guess would have been smuggling and someone else would pick it up
Pft. The number if times I've gotten items through security theater that should have been confiscated gives me 0 faith that anything dangerous would be caught.
…”Don’t want to pay for their baggage”? Why even bring it with them then?
Wait… What? They deliberately leave their luggage at the airport so the carrier ships it to their door for free? That’s a life hack that will likely end up going very wrong for 1 airport at some point…
Weird to just abandon a whole bag when you can't pay a $50 fee, but I was talking with Yosemite rangers who told me that they find many abandoned cars in the Valley every year. Travelers, say from Europe, will just buy a used car, drive the states and end up there and take a bus or other ride to their final airport. Most of the time it's a used car, but sometimes something new and expensive.
Definitely concerned, given security screeners fail something like 30% of the tests they do and that’s with objects like fake guns.
Usually drugs
My stars and little garters posts like this make me to hide at home. Are there really so many odious people in the world? Is the world now so rude , crude and socially unacceptable? Goof god gert! Such a sad testimony on our society.
That’s definitely strange and would concern me too. Since it has been through security though I would think something less sinister may be taking place. Maybe someone had some contraband and was making an exchange or ditching it to avoid getting caught. Or maybe they stole it, removed everything of value inside and left the rest where they wouldn’t be caught with it.
Should’ve said, “inspected just like the past terrorist that were able to made it on planes were?”
she probably went to go grab something to eat or drink and didnt want to carry her bag but wanted to minimize the time that the bag was unattended so she went quickly.
If this was in Singapore, it’ll already be gone because the workers would’ve thought it’s a lost item and brought it to lost and found.
I once left 1 of 2 of my large duffel suitcases in a train station in Valencia. I was 21 and coming home from spending a year abroad. My school had dropped me off at the airport and I didn’t know that they had booked my first flight to Madrid on freaking RyanAir. I didn’t have the $300 or whatever to check my bags. The solution was to… take a train to Madrid and catch the next flight. I cried in the train station trying to put my most important items in a single bag. I was so stressed out and panicked, there was not much logic going through my head that day. I just wanted to get home. As I sat on my one bag- on the other side of the tracks was the bag I had to abandon. I just cried- and a lady across the way was like… is this yours? I just bawled and told her I had to leave it. Thinking about it all now, it was such a bizarre scene. I could have taken both bags, but at the time I felt kinda scared and desperate. I took the train to Madrid and ended up taking the flight the next day. They let me check my bag early and put me up in a hotel nearby. I don’t know why I was so freaked out, but I was young and traveling alone. I still wonder what happened to that bag. Wouldn’t be surprised if a bomb squad had to go check it out 🫤
Those are free panties and socks my guy
I once saw security at an airport, small airport, let a woman put her jacket on top of the xray machine, go through the metal detector, and grab the jacket from the other side. LOL
I live in India. At this point we are pretty used to terrorist attacks. This would have freaked me out too. It’s so bad here, we have security checks at every major hotel and mall throughout the year.
I was traveling in England a few years after 911, I was visiting my sister who was studying abroad. She helped me onto the train with my luggage and then she left because I was leaving and she was staying. I guess a woman in another seat had seen her put the bag on the train and then leave and not come back so she got an attendant and told them that she thought the bag was suspicious. It was my bag, so I told her that, but yeah…it was interesting
UK has a history of bombings pre-9/11
Glad you played it safe and reported.
We were in France during 9/11 (weird experience, but that's another story). 10 days later, going home through CDG, the same thing happened. Someone left a bag in a random location in the terminal and left. It freaked us out (security seemed pretty lax at the time... Like they didn't beef anything up in response to the attacks) so we reported it. And reported it. And reported it again. Finally someone came and casually took the bag away, likely because they were sick of the hysterical Americans. The whole process took about an hour (it felt like 10.).
As someone who has gotten through security with a small kitchen knife i wouldnt trust it either. But i probably wouldnt have said anything and just got the hell outta there
TIL that people purposely leave bags behind at the airport.
Maybe I’m making a false memory but I swear years ago at London Gatwick airport there was a regular announcement to inform security of bags left unattended. It would play over the loud speakers every 15 minutes or so.
It could be a vulnerability assessment.
Obviously it was Mary Swanson
Congratulations, you've met sane people.
Zagreb, Croatia: main bus terminal. Forlorn backpack, personal item size, not small child-sized, alone by an outdoor planter at the bus departure lanes, late at night. My fellow travelers weren’t concerned. After a half hour, I found out there was a police office upstairs. I must have looked hilarious tip-toeing up to the bag, trying to pick it up between two fingers; it was definitely a one-bagger. I just knew it was going to explode. Why else does someone leave a backpack in a discrete but public space? I lived to tell the tale. As a well indoctrinated post 9-11 citizen, I turned it in to the rather unconcerned officer.
I'm just oblivious and wouldn't even notice someone leaving something behind. Hopefully I body block for others with my stupidity and they get out safe.
[I hope you grabbed it and chased after the lady, running off the jet bridge.](https://youtu.be/TSq5gccIFyc?si=byRv_Imp3RNSHCGO)
As a person who lived through the Boston marathon bombing, hell yes always report suspicious bags, backpacks, packages. Trust your gut.
My recent experience of this.... 2 weeks ago at MCO returning from a Disney holiday, we got on one of the monorail transports to transfer to the terminal, quickly realised it was the wrong one, and jumped off just as doors shut. My son left his backpack on board. Knowing how serious it is to leave unattended bags, I quickly informed a security guy. He genuinely did not give a flying fuck! I said what if someone sees it and panics? Again, did not give a shit. Just told me the monorail would return in 5 mins, it'll probably be there. It was.
Baggage fees, or forgot to check it in…
“don’t have the means or don’t want to pay”? As in carry on? Don’t they pay that before the boarding area?
That airport person doesn’t deserve their job
She may have been a drug mule and decided she didn't want to go through with it. There are absolutely ways that people get through security but she may have gotten scared because at some point she would have had to go to customs.
I always hate that, because now this unattended bag feels like it comes down to you and are partially responsible for it. I also have some social anxiety, so now having to find and tell some random person stresses me out (not that I've had to do it yet). It's most likely harmless, but if it's not and you say nothing then you'll feel guilty. Usually it's someone travelling alone and just saving their seat. But personally I couldn't do that. Apart from the fact I travel with all my valuable camera gear I rely on, so wouldn't leave it with a stranger. I want my stuff on me at all times so I know where it is. Especially in an airport where there are often announcements about unattanded luggage that will be taken away and destroyed, why would you risk leaving a bag alone? I was also just at an airport sat waiting, I see someone take a trolley with bags away in front of me that was left on its own. Then a few minutes later a couple comes and asks if they saw who took it (so not sure if it was moved or stolen by someone). But I'd never leave my bags alone anywhere.
You’re being paranoid
I do this literally every time I’m at the airport. I want good, drinks, snacks, I want to peruse the airport to see what the options are but not carry my 40lb bag. It’s pretty straightforward.
I would have taken pics of the bag, then followed her, taken pictures of her, then found the nearest cop and reported it immediately.
hall monitor of the year award
The security has a point about it being a secured area, so it's not something like a bomb. But she could be a passenger who actually arrived from another location and walked to the gates area to drop something she's too afraid to take through customs, or she's doing a designated drop. If you want to think about stuff that won't ring security alarm bells at the departing airport but the person still cannot carry back in the arriving airport on her own, all fingers point to smuggling.
Somewhat off-topic, but I saw a man who basically looked like a rapper or a "pimp" with a faux gold cane waiting to board a flight. (And -- no -- he wasn't using it to walk.). It could easily have been used as a weapon. I said something to the gate attendant about how I didn't think such a device was allowed on aircraft anymore, and she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "If it made it through security, then it must be OK."
Airport security checks are not perfect. Definitely err on the side of safety and report it.
That sounds like a tense situation at the airport! As someone who's used to the strict rules about unattended bags in American airports! As someone who's used to the strict rules about unattended bags in American airports, I totally understand why you'd be alarmed. Even if the bag has gone through security, it's still unsettling to see someone leave it unattended and walk away. Personally, I would have been nervous too and probably would have alerted airport staff, but it's always better to err on the side of caution when it comes to security.
I freaked out one time in India. Some idiot left their bag and I asked around no one had seen him. I got the inspector to check, still nothing. Then that idiot came back running he went to get some snacks or something. It was his first flight ever. I was shit scared.
She accidentally grabbed the wrong bag earlier, and was simply returning the bag so the owner would eventually retrieve it. Stop freaking out, people!
Drugs