Luggage Transportation Curbside Check-In: If

Luggage Transportation

Curbside Check-in:

If the passenger opts for curbside check-in (and it is permitted under applicable security rules in effect at the time), the process begins even before the passenger enters the airport departure terminal. Curbside check-in facilities include computers capable of printing out boarding passes and luggage tags complete with barcodes to identify baggage electronically if necessary. The bags are weighed to determine whether they conform to the maximum size and weight restrictions of the airline and additional fees collected if necessary. Once the curbside attendant places the baggage on the conveyor belt, the baggage continues through the same general process as other passenger luggage destined for the plane's cargo hold.

Ticket Counter Baggage Check-in:

If the passenger opts for ticket counter, the attendant conducts the same general process as the curbside attendant and also issues a boarding pass. Different color tags and number codes corresponding to flight numbers are used to distinguish different destinations to help baggage handlers direct luggage to the appropriate internal conveyor belts. Depending on the security measures in place at a particular time, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may conduct random inspections of passenger baggage by hand as they approach the ticket counter, in connection with which they may use an explosive detection device to identify any residual traces of explosives. Passenger luggage that is screened in this manner is then taped with special TSA security tape and secured by official seals to indicate that the bags have already been screened by hand and to ensure that the intact seals will prevent subsequent tampering until the passenger takes possession of it at the destination airport.

Currently, major U.S. airports are equipped with X-ray equipment and explosive detectors through which luggage conveyed to the cargo hold is automatically screened in the baggage handling areas. The TSA suggests that passengers leave luggage unlocked to avoid damaging locks in the event a cursory screening necessitates internal inspection of luggage contents by hand. Many passengers lock their luggage anyway, because they are more worried about thievery at the hands of baggage handlers after numerous news reports over the years implicating them in property theft from checked passenger luggage.

Baggage Handling Operations:

Whether luggage is checked at the curb or at the ticket counter, the agent normally inquires into whether any of the contents requires special handling of any kind and luggage with delicate or unusual contents are tagged with indicators signifying special handling requirements. In the baggage handling area, baggage handlers pack luggage into metal containers that hold approximately one-hundred bags each. Depending on the airline involved, domestic flights may not use cargo containers for luggage but international flights generally do.

There are two logistical purposes for using the containers. First, packing individual bags into shaped containers saves space because the containers are designed to fit the internal dimensions of the aircraft cargo hold compartment. Second, the use of containers makes moving luggage around much easier than transporting luggage piece by piece, in addition to being less hard on the bags. Once the luggage containers are filled, they are transported by specialized vehicles and conveyed along a belt loading truck into the cargo hold.

Security Precautions:

There is also a third purpose for using cargo containers within the cargo hold areas: security against terrorism. Specifically, the cargo holds are designed to contain the destructive force of explosive blasts such as where a bomb inside luggage is not detected by other security processes. This is especially important in international flights because of the vast overseas distances involved and the reduced likelihood that a damaged aircraft will remain airworthy until an emergency landing is possible. By enclosing luggage inside reinforced containers, the effects of a bomb blast can be confined to the container and substantially minimize any structural damage to the aircraft itself.

Destination Off-loading and Luggage Retrieval: