Originally Posted by
the810
Bringing bags to a staffed desk is against the whole point of self service bag drop. There are some airports where it works like that (e.g. LHR) but usually you just put it on the belt, scan, and send it on its way. Is that different in MAD?
There usually are agents to assist you in case of any issues but self service bag drop is normally shared by all airlines using the same handling company so you don't need your specific airline/flight to be open as long as that handling company has *some* flight at that time.
VIE is still like that as of the last time I've checked a bag there... minimal time savings and I wonder how many more bags are lost because people don't know to take the two small barcode pieces from the tag and put them direct on the bag.