Luggage Security Sacrificed

“Air Travelers Urged to Unlock Bags, Opening Liability Issue” (Dec. 20) missed the most serious risk facing air passengers who either voluntarily fly with unlocked checked bags or who have their locked bags unlocked outside their presence: the risk that contraband or stolen items may be placed in the bags.

I annually fly to Europe or the Caribbean with checked luggage whose value far exceeds the outdated international treaty limits for lost bags. I can protect myself from the risk of theft from my luggage by packing any items of significant value in my carry-on or leaving them at home. But I am powerless to protect myself from the drug dealer or jewel thief who decides to stash his loot in my now-unlocked bag for his confederate’s retrieval at my destination.

What will the U.S. government or Transportation Security Administration do to protect me when I am arrested by Interpol or the Turkish police? I do not believe it is too much to ask that my checked bags be opened only in my presence and relocked in my presence. The first time my locked, checked bags are opened outside my presence will be the last time I fly.

Mary-Lynne Fisher

La Crescenta

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If airlines are allowed to open bags and check them without any regard for a passenger’s privacy, then what’s to stop them from eventually doing strip searches to ensure airline safety? It seems that airlines are continually embellishing on the measures they are willing to take to combat the events of 9/11. When will this all end so that we can get on with our lives?

Angeline Nguyen

Long Beach

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I read with some concern that new airport security measures will require passengers to not lock their luggage. In October I flew home from Italy on British Airways. Because of a missed connection, my suitcase did not accompany me. When I filed a lost luggage claim at LAX, I had to surrender my keys to the airline so U.S. Customs would be able to search my bag. When it arrived at my home the next day, most of the Christmas gifts I had purchased in Italy, as well as several other personal items, had been stolen. I filed a claim with the airline but received only one-third of the amount that was stolen in compensation. My advice to travelers is to hand-carry anything you value. I learned the hard way.

Linda Drummond

Long Beach