Lock luggage
 

We are getting ready to leave in a week for our southwest adventure- many thanks to everybody who has helped us.

now our quwestion is - DO you lock the checked luggage?

Melissa

No. I do not lock my checked luggage because it seems to be such a hassle. I think it also potentially invites someone to open my luggage.

We use zip ties. They can be cut off by the luggage handlers if inspected and then replaced by them (that is what we have been told). If you use your own locks they will cut them off and replace them with zip ties after inspection anyway. Try to use a destinctive colored tie so you are alerted that your luggage has been tampered with.

No, we don't lock our luggage. Never have. Which was a problem when the TSA inspected one of our bags and secured it afterwards with one of those plastic ties--we didn't have anything to cut it off with! Of course, the hotel was able to help, but not before we considered using our teeth...

Hmm, E brings up an interesting point: Since you can't carry scissors or blades in a carry-on, just how do you get the ties off when you get there?

I use zip ties--you can buy a pkg of them at Home Depot or Lowes--

All you need is a nail clipper to cut them off..that is allowed...

I flew Southwest a week ago, a TSA agent told me it's OK to use a TSA-approved lock, they have the key. No idea if they used their key or not - everything in the suitcase looked the same. I locked and checked it in both ways.

Faina, I think the TSA is required to put a notice in your bag if they've inspected it; the one I got came on a white half-sheet of paper and included a number to call if anything was missing or otherwise out of order. It was right on top, inside.
As for cutting off the ties, the nail clipper is the ticket, but you must forearm yourself with one, obviously.

I've used the TSA-approved locks on 4 trips now, and they have worked like a charm! The big ones are available at Brookstone, and the little ones are available at Target,

Take a small nailclipper and just jam it down in the pocket on the outside of your luggage that is checked.
Once, the airlines put my luggage through the xrays then put the zip lock tie on..I was so glad I had that nail clipper when we got to the hotel.

While the above posters have had luck with the new TSA locks - others haven't been so fortunate. Wherein the key that is supposed to open these locks just isn't available (left in the office, or whatever) and these locks are broken off.

It's best to go with the zip ties for the time being if you feel you want your bags secured. But don't forget the nail clippers to cut these once at your destination.

If your TSA-approved lock is broken off, just return the broken lock to Brookstone and they will give you a replacement lock for free. It is part of the warranty on the new locks.

I also show the locks to the baggage screener when I give them my luggage and ask "Do you have the keys for this?" just to make sure they see it is one of the approved ones. I've flown through three major airports (DFW, ORD and SFO) and all three had the keys ready and accessible. The smaller airports I've flown through (MAF, KOA and SJC) also said they had the keys, and the screeners at MAF even showed me how they worked! There is no excuse for keys being "kept in an office." If a screener gave me that excuse and broke my lock, the Federal Security Director at the airport would get a letter from me when I returned home.

Melissa

I always lock my bag when flying out of DFW - if locked they ask you to wait while they run it through the xray m/c and after they are done you can lock it again. However, I do not know if this facility is vailable at other airports.