So, why’s there a hole in the suitcase?
Packing a suitcase for a flight is stressful enough, isn’t it? But what happens if you open your suitcase after your flight and find everything’s been damaged?
That’s what happened to TikTok user Meg DeAngelis (@megsdeangelis), who’s racked up more than 515,700 views for her video about her experience at airport security checkpoints.
So, what happened to his hold luggage?
“When I got to the hotel, I opened my suitcase and thought, ‘Wow, everything’s a mess, there must’ve been turbulence during the flight that I didn’t notice’,” says Mr DeAngelis, pointing to his messy luggage.
At first, he doesn’t think about it: “Maybe things got mixed up. Then I see a clump of hair in the corner of the suitcase,” he says, immediately surprised, but after a while he remembers that he had put hair extensions in his carry-on.
The story should have ended there, but on closer inspection the accounts don’t add up.The hair extensions were in a bag, but that bag is now full of holes.”It must have been a mouse or something,” he says, but things continue to strike him as odd. How did the hair get out of the bag? And why are there holes in it?
A note explains everything
Ms. DeAngelis then found a baggage inspection note inside her laptop. “It’s like a letter saying that the airline searched everything in my suitcase,” she explained.
She was wondering why security completely destroyed her belongings and why they’d opened the suitcase like that.
“It’s a Ziploc bag, they could have opened it,” she said, pointing to the torn plastic.
He adds that his extensions are now all wrong and that he has no choice but to send a very specific message to the person who went through his bag.
“I hope your pillow is still warm,” she finally says.”I hope you forget your headphones on the train tomorrow. And finally, I hope you confess your feelings to your lover and he leaves you behind.”
Did you know that airport security can check your luggage?
Yes, apparently they can check your checked luggage, and they’ll put a notice inside your bag to let you know that it’s been inspected, just like in the DeAngelis video.
But if your bag is broken or damaged during inspection, you can file a complaint with the TSA. According to the TSA, you can file a complaint if your items are lost or damaged during inspection. (Via)
But it’s important to remember that while the TSA is doing these checks, it’s actually the airlines who are responsible for your baggage while it’s in transit. (Via)
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, airlines have to either repair any damaged baggage and/or its contents, or reimburse you for them. (Via)
So, to avoid having your bag searched, it’s probably best not to carry any electronic devices, chargers, iPods, etc. (Via)
So, the commentators were saying how they thought
DeAngelis’s luggage was searched because he’d checked his laptop in. One guy said, “If your laptop’s in your luggage, you’ll be searched” and another suggested putting it in your hand luggage.
But someone else said they’d experienced something similar without mentioning electronics. They said, “They did this to my dad. They unpacked and smashed all the ceramics. He was coming home from my grandmother’s funeral and it was the only thing we had left of her.I’d never seen her cry so much.