Are these cardboard disposable tags? I think the airline has the right to remove old disposable tags that might confuse their baggage handlers. You should remove old tags yourself, much luggage has gone astray because of old tags with now irrelevant destination codes.

Many (more than 10) years ago I read in a magazine about at least one self serving passenger saying it is not his job to take off old tags. Whose job did he think it was, the airline's?

Travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm