Is it smart to lock your luggage?

Even though locking your checked luggage can be a good idea, it's not a solid guarantee that your personal belongings will be safe. Unfortunately, there are a lot of clever folks who know how to bust open a combination lock. Also, some thieves simply slice through a soft-sided bag to grab its contents.



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Lock Your Luggage on Domestic and International Flights
Your luggage lock isn't just for traveling between cities in the US. While not every country has similar access to TSA approved locks, most do. There is no need to stress about luggage security when crossing the ocean.

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7 Ways to Keep Your Luggage More Secure During Travel
  1. Invest in Locks. ...
  2. Keep Valuable Items Out of Sight. ...
  3. Use Plastic Wrapping. ...
  4. Avoid Keeping All Your Valuables in Your Bag. ...
  5. Divide Your Luggage. ...
  6. Tie a Ribbon around Your Luggage Zippers. ...
  7. Anticipate Any Potential Thefts.


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According to the Department of Transportation, luggage theft is a common problem. U.S. airlines reported more than three mishandled bags for every thousand in March. More than 1 million bags were stolen in 2018. It resulted in $1.2 billion in missing valuables.

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The Benefits of Locking Your Luggage Using a suitcase lock makes it more difficult for baggage handlers or strangers to riffle through your goods at the airport. Not to mention, luggage locks are a great way to ensure your personal belongings won't fall out because the zippers are held together.

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9 Ways to Protect Your Luggage on Your Next Trip
  1. Choose the right bag. Protecting your luggage starts by selecting the right luggage. ...
  2. Keep it simple. ...
  3. Wrap it up. ...
  4. Buy bag protectors. ...
  5. Put your photo on it. ...
  6. Take a photo of it. ...
  7. Use a luggage tag outside and inside. ...
  8. Zip up toiletries.


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Once an airline determines that your bag is lost, the airline is responsible for compensating you for your bags' contents - subject to depreciation and maximum liability limits.

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A stolen luggage report can also be filed with the airport police, in the event your property is recovered on baggage handlers or other employees. If you believe items may have been stolen during security screening, you can also file a report with the TSA.

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According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), yes, you can zip-tie your luggage shut so no one would be able to simply unzip your luggage and go through it.

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A TSA lock is one to which only TSA officials have a key. You set the combination yourself and, if a TSA agent has to look inside your bag because they see something suspicious on the scanner, it can be easily opened with their master key.

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How to Set Your TSA Lock | Samsonite. We offer select luggage that. comes complete with a TSA-approved luggage lock. Here's our step-by-step guide on how to use them, from determining which lock style you have to setting your lock combination and more.

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Countries with TSA Lock Requirements Hence, several countries (USA, Canada, Japan, Israel, Finland, Austria and South Korea) require travellers to have their suitcases locked with a specific brand of locks that can be unlocked by aviation security.

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The most common luggage mishaps Mishandling during transfer is one of the primary reasons why luggage may be delayed or lost. This can occur when handlers do not have adequate time to transfer bags between flights.

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When it came to airlines that lost the most baggage, that same study found that Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines came in ninth out of 17 major airlines. “Of all national airlines, American Airlines lost the most bags in 2022, losing 850 bags per 100,000.

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Low Odds. Odds are slim your airline will lose your luggage. According to the Air Travel Consumer Report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, you face less than a 1 percent chance that a major airline will misplace your bags; in 2022, there were only about 7 reports of mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.

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Bags that are missing are tracked using the World Tracer system. Usually, they appear somewhere within a day or two and go on to be reunited with their owners. With most airlines, passengers qualify for compensation after their bags are lost for more than 24 hours to cover necessary expenses.

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Most people tend to buy black or navy suitcases, says Phil Dengler, co-founder of the travel site The Vacationer. It can hide normal wear and tear—such as scratches—better than a light-colored one, and let's face it, darker tones can be a simple choice to default to when shopping for baggage.

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