Ok, I was flying MEM to TYS and gate checked my bag, TSA approved lock, still intact. When I got the bag after the flight, my lock was gone. What reason would a NWA baggage jockey have to cut my lock? It already went through TSA screening?

I lodged a complaint with NWA on their website, but not sure what type of response I'll get.

Any ideas as to why this would happen?

Was anything missing from your bag?

Was there a TSA slip inside the bag that explained that the TSA opened it? (If the TSA inspects a bag by hand they leave a paper slip inside to let you know your bag was opened)

I really doubt it was the TSA for a gate checked bag.

My guess is someone was stealing - or trying too.

That was my point, it wasn't the TSA, it was the NWA luggage handler as I dropped it off at the end of the jetway. There was no slip, nothing.

Perhaps because a lock reflects value and someone was interested in the contents?

I had a problem in GEG and LAX with the TSA not properly closing the locks after they had examined bags. The result was the bag arriving at destination without a lock (it fell off). Perhaps that is what happened here.

On a recent trip from MSN to MCO, I checked two bags with TSA approved locks. When I retrieved the two bags, only one had the TSA lock on it. The TSA locks I purchased have an indicator telling me if it has been inspected or not. The one remaining lock had an indicator of RED, which meant it was opened and inspected. Both bags had the TSA slip in them, except one of the locks was missing. Nothing was missing in the bags, so I never reported it, but am a little frustrated that I lost one of the locks! I wonder what exactly happened. This is the first time that both my bags were searched.

I would have to agree with you. If it was a gate checked bag, someone was trying to steal from Yoda and I agree with your assessment of value. Remember before the non-lock rules went into effect, we were often warned not to lock bags because they were more frequently broken into because the theives were looking for valuble stuff. I don't have any stats or referrences, but it makes sense.

And the lesson here is .... ?

Don't put anything of value in any checked bag and don't put locks on them.

But this wasn't a "checked" bag but a carry on that was gate checked.

I suppose that maybe the lock was caught in the belt of the bagger loader and tore off, but my vote is still that someone was stealing.

did you check and triple check that nothing was missing from your bag?

Nope. But I can't imagine that anyone would be desperate for my dirty underwear, a tube of deodorant, my size 13 tennis shoes, or my old jeans or t-shirt.

My apologies if I've "shared" too much.

Heh. I'm not sure what the quality of the TSA approved lock is, but I've seen plenty of cheap locks get caught on just about anything and ripped off. The other thing with gate checking a bag and then having it broken into is that you have to be pretty ballsy to break into it. Why? At any major international airport, I am almost certain that all gate/ramp areas are monitored by video surveillance. At IAD, the C/D gates are monitored by UA cameras AND MWAA (airport authority) cameras. I've seen them both, and you'd be amazed at the quality of the MWAA cameras.

Next, the "jockey" would either have all of his buddies in on it (so they wouldn't snitch on him) or he'd have to find a private place to do it so nobody would see him. Finally, he'd have to find the *time* to do it. If you checked your bag in six hours early and it was sitting the baggage room all day, that would be one thing. But, you did't give up your bag until the gate in MEM, and when they picked it up in TYS all they did was drop it on the baggage claim belt. The guys in MEM have better things to do at that point of a flight than break into a lock of a carry-on. In TYS? Well, first thing is to get those bags on the claim belt.

I suggest you file a claim with NW, the airport authority police in both cities, and the FBI. I'm not kidding. I really, really, don't think that you were a victim of an isolated theft (or attempted). Just way too many things that would have had to have gone "right" for *your* bag to be the only one busted in to. If your bag was actually broken into by airline thieves, I'm very certain this isn't the first time those guys have broken into bags. If it ain't the first time, NW might keep quiet, but the airport authority police would know for sure and the FBI might know if it's an ongoing investigation. They do take an interest in those types of things.

This has been documented on Dateline I believe. There was an investigation into TSA baggage handlers and found that at a few airports they were stealing items from checked baggage (Rolex Watches, Various Electronic Items, even someone's catch from Alaska). I remember the fisherman was pretty pissed off. While I'm sure the incidents reported on TV were isolated, it has happened. I am just lucky to have lost a lock, and nothing more.

Yeah, that's what I mean though. Dateline wouldn't have caught on if it wasn't a recurring thing with certain TSA agents. The Washington Post just ran a story about a UA IAD baggage handler who was stealing credit cards out of US Mail. Those thefts occured over a period of four years, IIRC.

^ zip-ties: quick & cheap - haven't yet had one cut off by TSA (knock wood)

without scissors or pocket-knife at destination...

/.

I had a non-approved lock attached to the zipper but without locking the suitcase (so I could have it along and use in a hotel, where I don't have to have an approved lock). In the US, I usually seal the zippers using a cable tie to avoid having the approved locks cut by the TSA baboon-du-jour (it happened). When I arrived, the cable tie had been cut, the luggage inspected (with a flyer to prove it), and the lock had been cut from the zipper as well, *even though it wasn't locking anything!* So now I had one more cut zipper puller and one less lock. (And it didn't get caught in the belt. I've had small locks hanging from my suitcases' zippers for years, and nothing ever happened to them until the TSA appeared on the scene).

Worse yet, on a later trip, I found all the remaining zippers destroyed: the TSA chimp had cut the zipper runners instead of the cable tie that was holding them together (they left that intact), and had taken the time to destroy the zipper of an external pocket as well... I guess that's what happens when some people get to play with scissors and bolt cutters

Seriously, I realize I'm probably asking this question in the wrong forum, but is it even worth considering a complaint to the TSA? You'd think anyone with opposable thumbs should be able to cut a plastic cable tie...