But Employee Claims 'It Happens Every Day'

The Transportation Safety Administration processes thousands of claims filed each year by airline passengers whose personal items have come up missing from their checked baggage. Despite the overwhelming statistics, at least one airline denies the scope of the problem.

A Continental Airlines employee who works at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) recently spoke with Houston's ABC News affiliate KTRK. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, she said the practice of baggage handlers pilfering items from checked bags is not uncommon.

"It happens every day. It's very often that we may run across Continental guys going through their [passengers'] luggage," she said. "They run everything tightly up at the top, but poorly at the bottom. If I was to fly a flight with Continental, those are the things that I will be thinking about."

When questioned by ABC News about the employee's allegations, Continental provided a statement that refuted her assertions: "Thefts from baggage are extremely rare. We have active security operations at airports including IAH. We assist law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting theft cases when they arise."

Arrests of airline baggage handlers who steal from passengers' luggage have been making headlines with alarming frequency. As ANN reported, just last month St. Louis Police busted eight contract baggage handlers for Delta Air Lines who stole 900 items from checked bags at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) over the past year. "They were stashing stuff and then when they left were carrying it out in their coats or fanny packs or backpacks," Lambert Police Chief Paul Mason said.

Last October, a sting operation conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) resulted in the arrest of two baggage handlers and the recovery of 272 stolen items and over $10,000 in cash. And the month before, six people were busted for stealing a total of over a half-million dollars in gold and jewelry from a Manhattan jeweler's luggage at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Unfortunately, the list goes on and on.

A disquieting viral video posted on YouTube illustrates just how vulnerable some types of zippered luggage are to those who might be tempted to steal. While not all zippers are created equal, some can be opened and refastened quickly and easily, leaving little or no trace of having been compromised.

The TSA recommends that travelers refrain from packing basically anything of value -- such as jewelry, cash, laptop computers, electronics, or fragile items -- in checked baggage, even if it is locked.

FMI: www.tsa.gov