‘I’m a luggage handler - passengers should avoid packing one food item or they’ll risk having their bags searched’
Adding accessories to luggage can cause confusion at airports
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A baggage handler has warned passengers exactly which items to avoid packing in their luggage and also not to attach colourful accessories like ribbons to their suitcases.
Many people mark their luggage with unique tags and strings in the hope of making them easier to spot when they arrive at their destination.
The old hack may help single out bags on carousels, but it can interfere with scanning procedures, a baggage handler has warned.
John, who works at Dublin airport, warned that accessories like ribbons cause a backlog, as scanners will take longer to identify belongings in a suitcase.
Passengers should avoid packing marzipan in their luggage
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Speaking to RVSP Live, he revealed: “Ribbons that people tie onto their suitcases to help identify them can cause issues with the bag being scanned in the baggage hall.
“If the bag can’t be scanned automatically, it can end up in the manual processing, which could mean your bag doesn’t make it to the flight.”
John warned that stickers, too, can confuse scanners.
“Take old stickers off the bag,” he urged passengers. “It can cause confusion with the scanning process.”
Air travel experts have previously warned that flyers who stick barcodes to their luggage cause great delays.
But it's not just the exterior of suitcases that need special attention. What passengers pack inside their bags is equally important.
According to John, packing food products containing marzipan may raise concerns as the ingredient shares the same density as explosives.
He explained: “Don’t ever pack marzipan in your luggage. It has the same density as some explosives, so your bag will be removed and you’ll be called from the plan for a bag search.”
Security procedures are slowly changing at airports as the rollout of new scanners nears completion.
The new machinery, which can easily detect prohibited items in the hand luggage of passengers, will free passengers from the 100ml liquid in time for summer.
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Ribbons and tags cause confusion in scanners
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It does this by giving airport staff a 3D image of the contents of bags, as opposed to the 2D images currently produced by scanners.
Britons have been warned that while departing airports may accept liquid limits over 100ml, this may not be the case for other hubs through which travellers are transferred.
Enquiring about new security rules will be essential to avoid losing personal items at security gates, according to experts.
The end of the 100ml liquid rule could see passengers departing the UK with up to two litres of liquids in their hand luggage.
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