Travelers might be skeptical as they watch their bag move out of sight on a carousel behind the check-in counter at the airport.
Hopefully, luggage arrives at their destination, but it doesn’t always.
The Transportation Security Administration has paid passengers $3 million for losing, damaging or stealing items, according to a report Thursday.
The money was shelled out during the last five years, USA Today reported after a review of 50,000 complaints.
If luggage is lost during security, or if jewelry or electronics end up missing from a bag, passengers can file a claim with the TSA (http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/claims-management-branch).
About 55 percent of those claims are denied, TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy told the Tribune.
He cautioned that the claim numbers are small in comparison with the close to 2.5 million pieces of luggage that are screened every day.
In data provided by the TSA, claims at O’Hare range from a claim for $368.52 in clothing lost in checked baggage to a personal electronics item damaged at a checkpoint.
“Overwhelmingly, passengers do not experience any issues with their baggage,” the agency said in a statement.
Thursday’s report estimated about 120 complaints involving Midway were filed from 2010 through 2014.
McCarthy noted that the number of passengers screened at Midway has climbed in the last few years. About 6.4 million were screened in 2010, and by 2013, the last numbers given by a TSA spokesman, that number was about 7.1 million.
At O’Hare, according to McCarthy, about 23 million passengers were screened in 2013.
This isn’t the first time the TSA has been criticized for lax suitcase security. A CNN article this year reported that the TSA has fired more than 500 officers for stealing items since 2002.
In 2011, two employees were arrested and accused of stealing nearly $40,000 from checked baggage at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
In 2012, the TSA started having agents pose as travelers and submit test items through screening. In these “integrity tests,” the agency says it has a pass rate of 99.9 percent.
What can travelers do to avoid the dread of not getting to a destination with their suitcase, laptop or jewelry?
One option is shrink-wrapping your checked luggage, a service available at some large airports for a small fee, said Stacey Vogler, managing director for Assurant’s Protect Your Bubble, which provides travel insurance.
And travel insurance — Assurant’s starts at $15 a day — saves you stress about replacing your items, or a “hassle or nightmare” with the TSA, she said.
But your best bet?
“The safest way to keep things that you really value safe is to not bring them with you,” she said. “Keep it in your carry-on rather than a bag that you’re going to check, and at least it’s with you; it’s not out of your sight.”
