Do you lock luggage before a flight

[fatgirlswims]

I do this and I thought everyone did

My colleague said they didn't and then we asked another and they said they didn't really know.

I fly quite often and wouldn't check in an unlocked bag.

I know they can opened and search but it still dint want many my pants escaping.

(And yes I use packing g cubes too)

I don't. What's the point really. All my clothes are crap anyway.

I've never locked mine. Don't really want it damaged and maybe they are more suspicious of locked cases.

I lock mine, but with a darn zip it’s easily openable.

My clothes and hairdryer are not good quality either, but I’d like to keep them.

If I had enough money I’d buy one without a zip, so if you can afford one, look out for one of those, I think Delsey and the like do them.

I lived in South America for a few years and travelled in and out of many airports there. I generally used to get my case shrink wrapped before checking it. It was never about something being stolen out of the case but being about something (drugs) being added INTO your case.
I still lock mine every trip now, but don’t worry about having it wrapped.

I think it’s the same as burglars will rob a house with an open window, not go to the effort of robbing the house with window locks.

Nothing like locking your car to say you have valuables in there?

I’ve had a car broken into because my ex left a bag visible. It was full of sweaty gym gear which, unsurprisingly, they didn’t actually want. It was also a total pain because they tried to force the door, damaged the lock and then broke the window all for stinky clothes and a damp towel.

I use lockable straps so even if someone jabs a pen through the zipper, they still can’t get into my case easily. I see it as a deterrent as generally, thieves are going to go for an easier & quicker target. I work hard to pay for a nice holiday & don’t want it ruined by having stuff nicked from my suitcase. Yes, my valuables are in my hand luggage, but it would still ruin my holiday if I arrived & found that some of my clothes or my hairdryer had been nicked!

No I don't, used to get those mini padlocks that attach to zip puller but don't bother now, we have one new case with a built in lock but don't bother with the others.
Touch wood it's always been fine

Yes I lock them but mainly to keep the zips together to reduce the risk of it inadvertently opening somewhere in transit and you loosing some all the contents. I’ve seen it happen several times. Use a strap for the same reasons plus easier to id.

I don't put my luggage in the hold. I always lock my hand luggage, you have no idea who you are sharing the plane with. Odds are there'll be a few thieves on board, no point making it easy for them.

I always lock my case. It’s fitted with built-in TSA approved locks so good for the US (I used to travel there a lot with work). I have hard shell cases (Rimowa and Lojel - a Japanese brand) so no zips so they’re more secure than zipped ones. (In the past I had to break in to my own zipped case when the lock failed as I checked into a hotel on business so I know how easy it is to open a zipped case now). Looking at my case you wouldn’t know whether it’s locked or not unless you actually try the lock - and if you’re doing that, you’re obviously already up to no good.

Whilst my valuables always go in my hand luggage, I have some quite expensive clothes, shoes etc so I’d rather they weren’t taken.

Same

I always lock my suitcase, yes . Had no idea others didn't bother .

i aaaaalways lock my luggage, my suitcase has a built in padlock anyway and its brilliant
if anything, i think any chancing baggage handler will see ones that are locked and not even bother, they won't be having time to break into suitcases (with pens apparently?!)
just a bit of peace of mind for me, that's all and i think its worth the tiny bit of time to lock it

also writing this has reminded me i dont know my lock number so im a bit fucked there😂hopefully i've written it down somewhere lol

Lucky you.

DH has so much hand luggage for medical stuff it is easier to pt a case in the hold.

I always lock it. Also have a hard case suitcase, so no zipper. i lock it as I travel frequently from the Caribbean to Europe. I do not want to risk to become a drugmule unknowingly.

Yes and the only time I didn't I had stuff stolen.

The only time I ever did I forgot the password!!!

Same, sat here like !!!

I always lock it, not because I had valuables inside but because of the worry of people putting drugs or anything else illegal inside. If I found any tampering with it when I picked it up from the carousel, I'd just tell the police immediately and have them search it. People who don't lock their luggage are idiots.

I've not travelled abroad in nearly 20 years, but always locked cases in the past - and will do when we (hopefully) get to go abroad this year.

My understanding was they always advised you lock your case so that nothing could be put in there without it being obvious. Those little luggage padlocks you used to get would do nothing against a thief, but that's not what it's there for.

Imagine on the last day of your holiday, you leave your luggage in the room if the hotel where everyone leaves theirs until it's time to go. You don't have a lock on it. Collect your luggage, go to the airport, tick the box/verbally confirm you packed it yourself, no one else has had access to it and it hasn't been left unattended (no one ever says otherwise because you don't want to have to unpack it again) - it goes through the scanner and they find drugs/explosives/weapons in there - good luck proving it wasn't you that packed it. And prey you aren't in a country that has the death sentence for that type of thing.

Now imagine you do have a lock on your case and you go to collect it from that room - you will SEE if anyone has opened your bag at a quick glance with a bit of luck. There might be someone willing to go to the trouble of taking their time to pick the lock to be able to close it up again, but realistically they are just going to look for a bag that doesn't have a lock - and from the comments on this thread, there are going to be a lot of those.

*pray.... sorry it's late and I'm very tired

This is my reason too. Wrapping cling film around your case is a good way to stop tampering.

I do, but my suitcase is old and the clips have a habit of flipping open if they catch on anything. I assume if someone wanted to steal it, they'd be able to break it open pretty quickly.

Always lock mine.

I don't want anything putting in, and I don't want anything taking out.

A lock won't stop a determined thief, but it will stop an opportunist who will slip a hand in and whip out one thing. Plenty of very poorly paid people behind the scenes in some countries. Plus we always use the luggage room - someone breaking into a bag is unlikely because of the risk of being caught. But someone slipping an unlocked zip to get one thing out? Unremarkable.

Very surprised at all the people who don't lock because they don't have anything valuable in their case.

I'm sure that's true of most of us!

I lock because I don't want anyone adding anything illegal. The last thing I want is to be arrested on arrival at my destination.

Luckily it seems the smugglers have plenty of unlocked cases they will target before considering mine. So thanks guys 😙