Why You Shouldn’t Tie Anything to Your Suitcase If You Are a Baggage Handler | April 26, 2025

Have you ever tied a colorful ribbon to your luggage handle to make it more noticeable? Prepare for some surprising news that might change your approach!

It’s common to want your luggage to stand out, especially when searching for it among a sea of similar bags at a busy airport. To prevent mix-ups and ensure the safety of our belongings, many of us personalize our suitcases with tags, ribbons, and fun stickers. However, John, a baggage handler at Dublin Airport, argues that these well-meaning decorations could create more problems than they solve.

The need to personalize our bags is understandable. It can be frustrating when your suitcase blends in with other bags upon reaching your destination. Some even attach a GoPro to their luggage to track its journey. But before you embellish your suitcase, consider John’s advice. While adding ribbons to the handles may help you locate your belongings more easily, it could backfire. John explains:

“If someone attaches a ribbon to distinguish their luggage, it could disrupt the scanning process at baggage claim. If the suitcase can’t be automatically scanned and requires manual processing, there’s a risk it won’t make it onto the intended flight.”

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