This is already being discussed in Newstand, but I want to bring about a serious discussion of TSA policies, in particular not being able to lock luggage. As you may have already read, Singapore just executed an Australian for drug trafficking after he was caught with Herion while transfering planes at Singapore's Changi Airport.

However, it is a known fact that drug traffickers will sometimes use peoples luggage to transport their drugs.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/as...ion/index.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=499078

The above is a link to the CNN article, the second is a link to newsstand.

Now, let's assume that a 'professional' drug smuggler had inserted drugs into your UNLOCKED checked luggage and you were making a flight via one of the many SE Asian transportation hubs (Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, etc). If you were the passenger whose bags were used, you could be facing the death penalty.

What if US baggage handlers were transporting Marajuana from Kentucky to California using someones luggage. The #1 Kentucky cash crop is put into someones luggage at CVG and a baggage handler removes it at LAX. Say a bag is routed CVG-LAX-(SIN/KUL/BKK)-PER and the drugs are not removed at LAX. An innocent person could easily end up facing a long prison term at a place such as the Bangkok Hilton or could be executed.

Remember the Shappelle Corby case? I don't know 100%, but it's possible she was a victim of an Australian domestic drug trafficking operation where her luggage was used to transport Marajuana but it was not removed. She is now in prison in Indonesia; sadly, one of the judges which gave her the ~ 15 years is also the judge that gave a Bali terrorist bomber 1 year.

I believe this execution in Singapore brings to light serious issues about not being able to secure your checked luggage in the United States. I often travel via SE Asia when traveling between the US and Australia and vice-versa; others do likewise.

Bottom Line: Luggage is not only locked to prevent items from being stolen, but to prevent items from being introduced!

SDF_Traveler

That is the reason we secure all our luggage with coloured cabel ties so that we can see if our luggage has been tampered with....

He was caught with nearly 400g of heroin strapped to his body, not in his luggage. He admitted he was transporting drugs. Not a very relavant argument for or against luggage locks.

There isn't a 100% method unless you don't check any luggage. Someone could always pop a lock, cut the shrink wrapping or plastic strap if they really wanted to and place whatever in or take whatever out.

Locking/strapping/wrapping makes your bag a less attractive target, which is how you try to make yourself less a victim. Another thing would be for airlines to keep better track of the weights of checked in bags. Then we'd have a better idea if someone like "Back in 20" Corby was a victim or perp.

Is it, apart from the allegations of Shappelle Corby, I've never heard of that happening.

I do however know of many cases where things have been REMOVED from a bag (Heathrow wasn't known as Thiefrow for nothing).

So can anyone tell me why the US has such a problem with locked luggage hen the rest of the world doesn't - or is it a Halliburton subsiduary that makes the TSA approved locks?

Usually when items are stolen from a checked bag, they're valuables, often jewlrey, electronics, or medication with a street value. Common sense dictates you should never pack such valuables in checked luggage, but people do.

The problem with locking luggage is the checked luggage screening devices and procedures used in the US. The CTX machines generate alarms from common items people pack and the bag then has to be opened to resolve the alarm. At other airports without CTX, a percentage of bags are opened for ETD swabs on the inside. While I support the screening of checked luggage, the system in the US is inefficient and primarily relies on CTX technology which causes many alarms. It is my understanding when purchasing the CTX, much of the decision was political as there are other, less intrusive methods of screening checked luggage.

As far as items being inserted into suitcases, I have read about other documented cases in the past. I've read reports of passenger luggage being used to transport large amounts of cash from the USA to Central / South America. Whether it's drugs, cash, or other items, it's important to lock luggage to prevent the introduction of items.

Last but not least, it's also wise to lock luggage to prevent your luggage from accidently being opened while in airline posession. Zippers sometimes get caught on belts and when someone goes to pick it up, the items fall out.

Airlines around the world, except in the USA, advise you to lock your luggage for good reason. Heck, the TSA at Newark even managed to plant a "fake bomb" in someones unsecured suitcase which was supposed to be caught in a screening test, instead it arrived in Amsterdam.

SDF_Traveler

Most of the time locking a bag is useless anyway - you can just stick a pen in the zipper and unhinge them, take what you want from the bag, and then zip it back up again without ever touching the lock... So unless you have a hardshell case with those clasps instead... But then again it's not funny how generic those locks are, so... I suppose the idea that it keeps honest people honest could apply...