shrink wrap at JFK airport
 

I will be taking KLM later this week and would like to shrink wrap my bag. I have not been able to find out the location of the shrink-wrap machines at JFK. A poster on another board mentioned one near EgyptAir..does anyone else know the locations? Would appreciate any help..thanks!

Egypt Air and KLM both depart from Terminal 4. If there is one by Egypt Air they probably meant just somewhere in the T4 checkin area.

I have no idea if there actually is one there at all.

Thanks..hoping someone can confirm the existence of one of these machines at JFK.

Another question: Once your bag is shrink-wrapped, how does security open it for a check? Shrink-wrapping would do no good if the bag were opened minutes later by the security team! Or is there a way to have it checked before wrapping? Sorry for seeming ignorant..I have seen these machines in other airports, but never used one before..

Has anyone seen these machines at JFK? Am I describing them incorrectly? Thanks!

Sorry, I've gone through the entire JFK airport website, and found nothing regarding the shrink-wrap machines. That's not to say it doesn't exist. I've just never paid any attention before because I've never had any need.

Sorry.

Thanks for trying! I did not see any on their site but did find a reference for Universal Handlers that offers "baggage wrapping" in Terminal 3.

With so many of us here flying out of JFK, the fact that no one has seen these may not bode well for me!

And if they do wrap your bags, do they do this AFTER the security check? What is the procedure?

Why do you want to shrink wrap your checked luggage?

It would seem to be impossible anyway. After TSA opens and inspects your bag you are not allowed to touch it.

If shrink wrap is available I would guess that it is only available for air freight.

hi, ek & hopscotch

there seems to be a cultural divide about shrink wrapping, based on different aspects of the "security" problem.

Here in europe, we are concerned with theft [not surprisingly given what's been happening in Italy and Heathrow] so we have machines to shrink wrap luggage before we check it. SEcuity checks do not routinely involve opening it after it's been checked, relying upon the instnct for self-preservation of the norlam traveller.

Hence, if you are not on the plane, they wil take your luggage off. [allegedly]

in the US, you are more concerned about being blown up, so secuity will, as I understand it, routinely open luggage after it has been checked. therefore shrink wrapping is a waste of time, as it locking your case.

not saying either is right or wrong, just how it is.

regards, ann

Thanks, Ann..That was my reason for wanting the process... because I will be flying into airports with severe theft issues after I make my connection in Amsterdam. But I did not understand how the bag would have been able to be wrapped and then scrutinized by security. Yet I see these machines in many airports..I wanted to check out the one in JFK and see if there is any way I could use it...but I cannot even find out where such machines exist!

Actually, in some airports after your checked luggage goes through the "bomb machine" they will actually allow you to lock it.

I have seen these machines in airports in Europe but not in the US. I have wondered about it myself. In Europe, are you allowed to lock your bags, for instance? That would be the same theory as allowing shrink wrap, it seems.

On the other hand, locks on luggage are easy to break. Back when I locked my luggage, the locks were routinely pulled off when I picked up my bags.

And shrink wrapping would just make it a little more difficult but surely not impossible for a baggage employee bent on theft.

At JFK you can watch while security checks it and then relock if you want to. but those locks can be easily cut..I wanted to try the shrink wrap feeling it would be more of a deterrent.,..

I have never seen shrink wrap at any of the airports in NYC or the US. I assume for security reasons--if you are checking luggage and they decide they want to check your bags, they would have to rip off the shrink wrap.

Guess I'm not so smart--I never realized the shrink wrap was an anti-theft measure, I always have used it for breakables--if something were to leak it wouldn't be so messy. :)

What airports have you seen it at? If i knew the exact name of the process or of the machines, maybe I would have better help Googling to find out if, indeed, there is one at JFK near KLM.

I don't believe the statement "At JFK you can watch while security checks it and then relock if you want to." is universally true.

JFK is 6-7 separate terminals. At least at T8 and T1 you simply checkin your bags and they are screened backstage out of sight.

I do not know how they work at T4, but it is a modern terminal similar to T1 and T8.

I have seen the shrink-wrap machines, but I know that I saw them at either Denver or Detroit airport within the last year. People standing near me in the checkin line had their bags shrink-wrapped by some third party operator, and then those people were rude to the airline agent upon checking in. After they left (having checked in their shrink-wrapped bags), the checkin agent mentioned to the rest of us in line that doing so was rather pointless, since the security people would merely cut open the shrink wrap if they needed to do a bag search.

So there you go for a third-hand story (and why you should be nice to people).

hi, again,

in europe we have all traditionally locked our luggage, checked or not.

I've never had a lock broken or case opened without my knowledge, so far as i know.

regards, ann

I have used the TSA locks in recent years and several times these have been broken and a note left to that effect within the bag. I wanted to use the shrink wrap on this trip in order to deter theft..I will look for the machines but a knowledgeable poster on another board suggested that the machines are for dedicated use of passengers flying certain airlines only...

Anyway, I will try to be nice to all desk staff!!! I have been able to lock my bag after inspection but in no way do I imagine or man to suggest that is universally possible throughout JFK airport...

The last time at JFK, after check-in I had to bring my bag to the big xray machine for screening where it then went off into the nether world of baggage distribution to the appropriate flight. I've always used cable ties and never once have my bags been searched/opened. Guess, the contents is boring.

When at this xray machine I noticed a few paxs were presenting their shrink wrapped bags, so assume there was a machine/service who did this somewhere in the terminal.

On the other end, I've seen shrink wrapped bags come off the carousel and none have been opened.

My guess, there are such machines somewhere at JFK, which terminals, I can't say. However, whether you shrink wrap your bag/s or not, if they have to be gotten into, they will.

Hey, the cost is about $5/bag. If you find a machine, go for it. If it's opened by Security somewhere, it's opened. We have no control over whatever the TSA (or other Security anywhere) choose to do.

Sandi thanks for taking the time. I will give a look around in the vicinity of Egyptair. I, too, have seen many bags come off the line with the wrapping...I am planning to arrive at JFK early so will have time to investigate. Thanks for all your help with planning this trip!

ek, I didn't know that shrinkwraping was available. Sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe calling your airline would help? Maybe they know about it? Or calling TSA or the airport?

I would like to use it. My concern is not security or theft (never put anything in the bag that anyone would want), but zipper breakage - visions of my undies pouring out of the bag drop onto the conveyer belt!! I guarantee you, if that happens, I'm not claiming them! Of course, my always-ready-to-tease husband would probably SHOUT for me to retrieve them! :-O

I would also like to use it to keep our new bags from looking aged after 1 trip!

On one trip, we opened our suitcases to find a card from TSA indicating our bags had been opened & searched. We only check clothes, tour books, & little bit of over-the-counter meds, but I didn't notice anything missing or disturbed.

Please let us know if you find out more about the shrink wrap. We are flying thru JFK in Nov. & would definitely use it.

Julie

Best way to avoid theft is to use cheap bags.The way it works is that bags likely to contain goodies are quietly diverted to a secret spot where they can be rifled, so if you can avoid being selected in the first place........
Probably best not to lock them either - they wont be opened unless selected, and then no lock will keep them out. A locked bag indicates goodies.

Julie I am leaving Friday and will be back mid-October so will let you know if I find those machines. I cannot find any info on the airport website and the airline (KLM) has no office in the US, believe it or not!

The duffel bag I am using for this trip IS fairly cheap..less than $50! But if I cannot shrink it I think it is best to lock, even with those flimsy TSA locks...

Julie, that happened to my daughter last year. Her bag had burst open and she jumped onto the conveyor belt with it, stuffing her clothes back in as they went around...

Sadly, I wasn't there to see it. Although I probably would have been laughing so hard she'd never forgive me.

Nikki, you sound just like my husband! Just think - if you were only there AND had a camera ready! What a travel photo!

Thanks ek. I'll be glad to hear how it turned out. Leaving Fri & back mid-Oct. That sounds like a great trip! Hope all goes well, but either way, have a great time.

Julie

Thanks!!

I use plastic cable ties to secure zippered bags, either suitcase or duffel bag.

The TSA can cut them open without destroying anything. I keep a nail clippers (to cut them open) and extra cable ties (for return trip) in an outside pouch of the checked bag.

Thanks! I bought a pack of plastic cable ties in various colors; they come with their own tiny clippers.

Gee, those plastic ties sound like a great idea. In these days of unlocked bags, I've been concerned about the zippers sliding open, just from all the tossing around at the airport.

I can't recall where I saw shrink wrap machines. I saw them in several locations at an airport (overseas, I think), but have not seen any recently both in domestic or overseas airports. I worried that just the sight of those shrink wrapped bags would piss off TSA, and the bags would be opened just for spite!

I bought the packs of plastic cable ties at The Container Store; the pack holds tiny ties of various colors that will fit betwen the holes of the zippers on your bag:

http://www.containerstore.com/browse...p;PRODID=73783

Just want to post the answer to my own question above:

There are at least 2 shrink-wrap machines in Terminal 4 including one in front of KLM checkin. I wrapped my large duffel bag for $7.00. The bag was not opened by TSA and arrived locks in place and tightly wrapped, safe and sound!!! The charge for a very large hard bag is $9.00.

Am I the only person who thinks that this is a terrible waste of plastic? I see this everyweek when in the Rome airport and all I can think of is what a waste to the environment. Sorry but its been bothering me all summer........

Duty Free..I have to agree with you on that score. I would only use this if I had a bag tht was in danger of tearing, or as in my case, I was concerned about security, as in having my bags and belongings arrive intact. They do use an awful lot of plastic!!! But I will use in again next week when I store a bag in an airport with a reputation for baggage tampering.

Suggestion: Package contents in 'baggies' and then package 'baggies' in a heavy duty plastic bag. Affix address data to the HD bag. All bags need to be transparent. Do not pack anything you can't afford to lose.

But how does that prevent tempering with one's bags? It also uses lots of plastic! Anyway, putting the label inside the bag is a great tip! BTW..my travel companions shrink wrapped their bags as well and guess what, they did not make our connection! I hope that the bags appear safe and sound, and untampered with..hopefully having had them shrink-wrapped will prevent pilferage during the looong transit time. Also hope their bags arive as promised!!