Frequent Travelers Agree This Unspoken Airport Etiquette Rule Is Broken Way Too Often

After all the waiting, flights, and security checkpoints, you finally arrive at your destination. You step off the plane, ride down the escalator — and then, red-eyed and hungry, you arrive at baggage claim, where everything is a mess. Travelers crowd around the carousel. They clog limited floorspace with their half-attended bags. Small children dart between people's legs. The knots of people are so thick, you can't even see the conveyor belt. For the umpteenth time on this trip, you're feeling a surge of luggage rage.

You're not alone. Entire subreddits are dedicated to airline passengers griping about luggage hogs. Like taxes and traffic, this scenario is pretty much always annoying, and it only seems to get worse. Is there any way to quantify how pushy people are at baggage claim? Probably not. But it's no comfort to learn that 1.8 million pieces of luggage were lost or stolen in 2022, and 26 million were "mishandled," including theft, delays, and damage (via Passenger Terminal Today). The total value? $7.45 billion, according to research by the company MoneyTransfers.com. Even if you've taken every precautionary luggage tip, it's hard to stay calm when hordes of strangers are yanking familiar-looking suitcases off the belt and striding quickly away.

So what should you do? Lead by example: Just step back. No matter how tense you feel, no matter how urgently you want to leave this airport, just give a little space. Rest assured that very few bags are ever actually stolen from a carousel, and the vast majority of mishandled luggage is eventually returned to its owners.

Of course, not all baggage claim experiences are bad. Spend enough time at any luggage carousel in the United States, and you'll probably see some gallant behavior as well: Fit young travelers helping people with mobility issues, crowds parting to make way for wheelchairs and crutches, and endless exchanges of "Pardon me" and "Oh, sorry" and "Could you grab that for me?" Baggage claim areas tend to be voluminous by design, and most are outfitted with benches, restrooms, and water fountains. If your bag never materializes, the fault is most likely with the airline, not some random stranger. Here's what a travel agent will tell you to do if an airline loses your checked luggage.

The worst time to travel is during the holidays, when families rush to reunite across time zones and winter storms are always possible. Many travelers are also checking bags loaded with gifts during this time, leading to more luggage and larger crowds. Long-haul and international flights can also lead to carousel crowds, as greater distance often translates into packing more. But with a little prep, it's certainly possible to navigate a busy airport without headaches during the holidays — even at baggage claim.