Airport worker arrested for theft just as SITA says bags safer than ever

A worker at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was charged with stealing from checked bags, just as a new report showed luggage is safer than ever at US airports.

Automated baggage tracking and increasing use of carry-on baggage combined to push the rate of lost luggage down by 53% over the past six years, a new SITA report found.

In 2012, passengers reported 26.04 million mishandled bags. Delayed bags accounted for 82.9%, most often on connecting flights.

A further 12.9% were damaged or pilfered and 4.2% were lost or stolen.

But a case in point was clearly that of 23-year-old David Vang, who was charged with 11 felony counts for stealing from bags at the Twin Cities airport.

Security footage showed Vang removing items from checked luggage and taking them to an unsecured employee parking ramp, where his wife waited.

Authorities removed several boxes of firearms, iPads, laptops, mobile phones, and jewelry from Vang’s apartment, the complaint said. Inside were 716 stolen items, valued at more than $84,000.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission said thefts from luggage are rare, but the airport recommends travelers place valuables such as jewelry in their carry-on luggage.

The SITA report, in fact, backed up that statement. Airline baggage handling improved last year with the rate of mishandled bags dropping 1.78% despite a 4.5% rise in passengers, it said.

In 2012, 8.83 bags per thousand passengers were mishandled, down from 8.99 in 2011.

One area the industry is focusing on is improving baggage transfers between flights, the main cause of delays. SITA, which provides airlines with baggage tracing solutions, said  transfer bags, as a proportion of all mishandled bags, fell 9% from 2011.

SITA CEO Francesco Violante said: "The industry has made a concerted effort to improve baggage handling operations in recent years through significant investment and innovation.

"Over the past six years, the rate of mishandled bags per thousand passengers has fallen 53.2%, saving the industry US$2.1 billion in 2012 compared to 2007.

"While there is still work to be done because any mishandled bag is unwelcome, the six-year trend shows that our collaborative efforts to improve baggage handling are paying off to the benefit of both passengers and airlines."

In 2012, passengers reported 26.04 million mishandled bags. Delayed bags accounted for 82.9%, a further 12.9% were damaged or pilfered and 4.2% were lost or stolen

Related News Stories: