Originally Posted by
knoa_knows
Not sure if I like the system or not based on plusses and minuses mentioned above by people with more experience in this method, but I can say as a frequent traveler to LAS that it is INSANE how easy it is to steal baggage there. There is literally nothing to stop a person who can claim to be at the airport gambling from sauntering over to the baggage carousel, grab a bag or two, and walk away.
In Europe it is done much better - walls between baggage claim and where the average person can get into the airport. People could try to get through but they would be noticed, even without anyone staffing it, as there are often one-way doors as well. Where is our American ingenuity on this problem? ;-)
Often in Europe the luggage must still clear customs upon arrival so of course it is in a "sterile" area that cannot be accessed by people other than passengers. I rarely take domestic flights within Europe, but I seem to remember flights to NCE, NAP, and Greek islands where the baggage belts were not behind barricades. The same might be true for domestic flights in Germany as I remember walking past some baggage belts that weren't secure at FRA when connecting from TATL to schengen, DL to AF.
In many USA airports, we could move the TSA exits to be after baggage claim, but then folks would complain about not being able to be met in the baggage claim area.