DallyingDingo

This is certainly a security issue and this seemed like the best forum to post it in, so bear with me..

I travel basically every week for work, and try to use LGA as often as possible as it is the closest to me.

Recently I have noticed United has had airline employees prohibiting people from leaving the baggage claim until they show ID that matches the baggage tag.

I HATE this

It takes orders of magnitude longer to get out and have a smoke or be in a taxi when families and people who don't speak english have to understand what they have to do, then dig around and do it.

These are just United employees from what I understand, not TSA, not cops...just individuals employed by a corporation.

So then, what right do they have to restrict people from leaving? Normally they only had people guarding but now the airline has put in a barrier that phsyically can't be climbed over, without making a scene at least.

I actually shoved one guy out of the way when he forcibly tried to restrain me.

My question is, is this at all acceptable? Do airline employees have any kind of special rights?

Easy fix is to not fly that airline anymore, although I would like to hear other opinions and insights.

Thanks.

mikeef

Welcome to FT.

My thoughts? It's about time the airlines did this.

And be glad it's the airline employees and not the NYPD that are doing it, or you might have gotten arrested after shoving someone.

Mike

DallyingDingo

Hi Mike, thanks for the welcome

After 38 countries and over 300 airports, this is a very atypical thing.

I would guess it is not normally necessary for some combinations of the following 3 reasons:

• Much of the time, baggage claims are only accesable to people departing from a flight
• Thiefs must be very oppurtunistic, since most people are watching like a hawk for their bags and leftovers get scooped up quickly
• Lack of motivation - why go to a place with so many cops for quetsionable gain?

Additionally, it is security theater. The bag tags are stickers, it is possible to peel them apart and reattach. What is to stop me from reattaching from a previous flight to someone elses bag?

In any event....I only really want to know if they have a legal right to prevent me from leaving. Since I've long cleared security at that point and normally would be free to leave, and since the airline employees are not cops or TSA....I don't see how they could legally justify detaining me if I declined to show ID.

Seems like false imprisonment and possibly assault.

Just a note....no real issue with the policy if they had more people or it was automated, but whenyou have one guy who doesn't speak english fumbling to check each bag, with 100 people made up of non english speakers and families....it can take 30 minutes longer.

I refuse to wait that long to leave and get home, and in many cases I simply can't waste that time.

Often1

Kudos to UA for doing the right thing. Nobody likes anything that takes time, but you can bet that if bags were still being swiped as in the good old days, there would be a thread, "Why Can't UA Do Something About All the Baggage Theft".

You can't win.

DallyingDingo

Just a note against this since I didn't last time, but the whole reason I shoved is because he grabbed me first, and because it was not any kind of authority figure.

Maybe I overreacted, but like many on this board I travel frequently for work. Being kept 30 minutes could mean missing a meeting which could mean losing a contract. Not that common but the point is valid.

Thing is, they ate not doing the "right thing". At the very best, they have good intentions.

There are better ways to solve this problem, assuming it is a problem in the first place.

Making everybody wait is not the answer.

squeakr

When I started flying, NO ONE could leave any airport with baggage without showing the claim ticket.
If this is of the essence for you I would figure out how to work with just carry on; ship your luggage to yourself via fed ex; change airports or leave yourself a half hour extra. I am guessing more large airports served by UA may follow this protocol.

DallyingDingo

I guess 34 is young to many people

I'm simply not flying United anymore, at least not until they make it so it doesn't take 30 minutes to exit baggage claim without causing a scene.

mikeef

Hey, I'm not that old and I remember those days.

Truthfully, the last few times I've had someone check my baggage tag, I was the only one there and was through in seconds.

OP, I don't know the legal answer to your question about leaving the airport. Sorry. I'd actually like to know the answer, too.

Mike

gobluetwo

Last time I checked baggage coming into LGA, it was actually Port Authority employees (in red coats - same guys who check your BP as you approach the security lanes) who checked baggage claim tags.

Late 30s and I also remember them checking claim tags as you left baggage claim. I didn't fly that frequently in my youth, so I still remember thinking it was weird when they didn't check and felt a little like I was breaking the rules!

BSBD

I think you'll find that it doesn't matter which airline you fly - you're going to be asked for your baggage claim stub or an ID in order to leave the baggage area with a bag at LGA.

catocony

Why would you check a bag on a domestic flight? Just stick to a roll-aboard and be done with it.

Letitride3c

Welcome to FT! JFK/LGA is our home airport and flew UA since the mid 1970's - and for years, checked luggages arriving were matched/checked against pax's ID or claim stubs, stapled to paper tickets, handwritten and/or typewritten in those days. It is a good practice and discontinued in recent years. And then, there were/are luggage thefts and strangers taking bags and asking you to follow them to ground transportation

UA flights at LGA nowadays are mostly regional birds and most of us don't wait for bags with the occasional gate checking and are on our way out direct curbside for ground transportation. On rare instances where we checked bags (hey, it's free - for us) it doesn't take long & are usually out of there in 10 minutes, maybe 15 at most - perhaps your flight landed during peak time & the carousals were backed up, but then UA had cut down on # of flights/co-shared out of LGA ...

What if you decided to make a pit stop and/or slow deplaning, and someone decided that they like your suitcase & walked out of the lower level - unchallenged. One time we're massive delayed & stumbed into the terminal at 1:30 AM and the entire place was deserted, and yes - we walked out after claiming ours, nobody around at all to help or check tags/ID. Alas, sometimes - we cannot have it both way.

There are many other things that we aren't happy with the "new" UA but this isn't one of them, and the UA/contracted employee was/is doing her/his assigned job. If you feel strongly, take it up the proper channel(s) as they say - shoveling isn't the response, IMO. Happy travel.

cbn42

This used to be the norm throughout the country several years ago. But then, airlines decided to start cutting corners and saving money, and figured that it would be cheaper to just pay people off for stolen baggage than to check tickets.

To answer your question "what right do they have to restrict people from leaving?", they have no right to restrict you from leaving. However, they do have the right to restrict you from taking any baggage out without verifying that it is yours.

MSPeconomist

Are they asking for the airline issued bag claim slip, to match the number to the number on the bag tag? Or are they literally demanding ID such as a passport? I would refuse to show my driver's license because I don't like to show my name and home address to random employees working in an airport, including TSA document checkers.

gobluetwo

They ask to see your baggage claim slip.

Pretty sure the OP is just confused. I've been through LGA well over 100 times, at least a dozen times with a checked bag, and have never been asked for ID to take my bag out of the claim area, only baggage claim slip. Never had colleagues who check bags asked to show ID, only baggage claim slips.