Anyone else think that all the missing luggage has been stolen buy staff?

Question

especially with all the hand luggage ie. cameras computers etc in them. There was so much chaos it would never of been noticed until later

Answer 1

Nope, I'm far more cynical than that. I believe that it was a conspiracy to hide a fuel shortage problem by the US and UK governments and the principal beneficiary will be British Airports Authority who's profits will boost through additional sales of other people's items. You see, about a year ago, I remember reading an article in one of the broadsheets about what happens to lost luggage : it gets auctioned. There are literally auctions of batches of (unopened) luggage that's been left / lost / unclaimed at airports and you can go along and bid for a lot and then it's quite literally a lottery as to whether the amount you paid was worth the contents of the bag you bought.

By restricting what went onto the planes, and saying no hand luggage, it created the situation in which mobile phones, car keys, house keys, digital cameras, correspondence with names/address of the owners and laptop computers with personal information is now located in those suitcases, which will now go to auction.

So, if you fancy a bit of a punt, then leave it a couple of months and attend the bag auctions and you'll be able to gamble on whether you'll make a bit of money.

The cruel irony is of course that those bags are a perfect opportunity for Identity theft for anyone who goes along and makes a bid as they can probably find a bag with a set of house keys, some correspondence and the name and address of a person who's identity can be assumed ahead of the government introducing mandatory ID cards. Which, ironically, is absolutely perfect for anybody who for example wants to plan an international terrorist plot, or assume a new identity in order to cover up their intention to blow up a few planes for example. And the profit from such crime will of course be shared between the auctioneers and BAA who will be selling the lost luggage on to them.

There are some policies which simply just don't stand the test of joined-up government, and the decision to ban hand luggage on aircraft was one example. The unintended consequences of that decision will probably lead to the committing of even more crime. Perhaps that was the necessary trade-off to prevent even worse acts of terrorism?

Maybe it was necessary, or maybe it was a coverup for the fact that once the buncefield oil depot blew up last December there wasn't enough aviation fuel storage capacity to supply the London airports during their peak periods of the Summer holiday getaways when millions of parents take their schoolkids on holiday out of the country, with huge numbers of flights going to America. By introducing luggage restrictions, and creating passenger chaos, the number of flights to the States dropped to almost a third of its usual amount, thus significantly reducing the amount of oil required to (a) fill the planes in London and (b) fill them in the States for their return journeys home.

Why would anyone want to do this? Well, didn't anyone else notice the timing co-incided with the loss of the prudhoe bay oil facility, which supplies 8% of the USA's domestic fuel supply? The timing of the luggage restrictions also co-incided with fuel prices hitting a record high. High fuel prices means that there's a shortage of supply. To alleviate supply problems, you have to reduce demand. Since airlines consume huge amounts of fuel, a few days of disruption and consequent drop in demand is exactly the thing you need to stabilise any supply problems or reduce the pressure upon price rises. Hmmm, doesn't that form the basis of a conspiracy theory? It may well have been terrorist action that disrupted buncefield and prudhoe bay, done in a well-organized and deliberate manner, planned and executed in advance with the intention of disrupting not the flights out of UK airports, but the distribution and price of oil - something which the western european democracies depend rather a lot upon other countries for.

Cynical? You decide. (Thumbs up / down or 10 points, etc)

Answer 2

Two years ago my husband and I flew to Texas on Continental Airlines. We had 6 new, factory sealed DVDs in our checked luggage. Guess what happened? You got it! They were stolen some time between us checking them through in Syracuse and our arrival in San Antonio. You better believe that if people have to put their phones, computers, cameras, etc. in their checked luggage that those items will be stolen. And the airlines will tell you the same thing we were told. There's nothing they can do about it. We're SOL.

Answer 3

Not really. But most of the time missing luggage will end up on an auction site (same with stolen luggage and things you can't take on an airplane).

Answer 4

Absolutely. My bag went missing after I checked it in after New Year and when I finallly got it back three days later I was missing the digital camera,I'd just got for Christmas! Who else but baggage handlers??

Answer 5

maybe , its ALL a big scam, and really an international smuggling ring has concocted it so they can pinch all the luggage,, bet if someone checks local car boot sales they find suitcases going cheap!!!!

Answer 6

lots of it is just mixed up in the system. They attempt to find the owner and if they cant there is a large store in the South that seels the items

Answer 7

High likelihood of being nicked. Nation of opportunists. Bugger everyone else, I'm out for what I can get! It's like looting in times of crisis.

Answer 8

Yes. Some of it undoubtedly has. Bit what did you expect?

Answer 9

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What I don't get is that any passenger could pick up my bag from the airport baggage carousel before I see it and just walk off with it. Most bags are black, with a handle and two wheels, they all look the same.

Answer 10

yes yes yes