Support truly
independent journalism
Airline passengers should always make two assumptions when boarding a flight. The first concerns baggage: if you check anything in, wave the case goodbye for the last time as it disappears along the conveyor belt. Assuming you will never see your luggage again sounds excessively pessimistic. Almost always your possessions will be returned to you – usually at the destination airport, sometimes days later when they turn up in a van. But the possibility that your precious stuff may be on a one-way journey to the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, should inform your packing. Anything you cannot do without – for sentimental, medical or financial reasons – should stay with you in your cabin luggage.
