Travelers Are Fuming Over This Polarizing Airport Security Trend That Causes Delays
You're heading on vacation and yet again, you're running late. Your typically calm, cool, and collected self is now anxiously checking the clock as you get close to boarding time. You know all the best ways to get through security faster, but when it's your turn at the security belt, you see a lineup of seemingly impatient travelers waiting to push their bins through, and wonder what the hold up is. A new not-so-hot trend is causing security delays at airports, and it's been dubbed "belt bumping."
There are all kinds of absolute worst travelers you'll experience at TSA checkpoints, and "belt bumpers" are now one of them. "Belt bumping" refers to passengers that leave their empty TSA X-Ray bins at the end of the conveyor belt without moving them to the empty bin pile once they've emptied them, leaving the cleanup responsibility to the airport employees instead of themselves. Now, although this may seem like a minor issue that shouldn't cause too much hoopla, travelers, and even airport staff are weighing in on their feelings regarding this new trend.
@currentdowns
In an article by Metro, traveler Fleurine Tideman says that belt bumpers are comparable to "people who don't put away their shopping trolley." Another traveler, Blaise Kelly, states that the lack of manners is discourteous. "It's horrible etiquette and disrespectful to the queue and people working at the airport." In a TikTok video posted by @currentdowns, he's seen grabbing the empty bins himself to pile them at the end in the stack with a cheeky caption on the video saying "always having to start a shift at security cause no one [cleans] up after themselves." A former airport security employee praises the act saying, "as an ex TSA, THANK YOU!".
Travel etiquette that's gone straight to the bin
"Belt bumping" may not be the worst airport etiquette, but most travelers have experienced delays caused by "belt bumping" without noticing. On a recent travel day through Toronto Pearson International Airport, I experienced "belt bumping" without even knowing that it had a name. The empty bins piled up, so I took it upon myself, gathered the four empty bins left by other travelers, and stacked them, which then freed up the belt backlog.
One of the best ways to avoid being flagged by TSA is minding your manners. There's a reason why your parents told you to clean up after yourself, after all. With a strong debate unfolding on social media platforms as to whether or not "belt bumping" is rude, it's easy to see how delays caused by the security belt back-up can cause frustration. As if there weren't enough annoying circumstances holding up security lines already, "belt bumping" doesn't seem like an airport trend we'll be encouraging anytime soon.
While "belt bumpers" may be annoying some travelers, not everyone is blaming folks for not touching the empty bins. Gary Leff, a contributor for A View From The Wing, says the bins are covered in germs. "Everyone touches them, along with their belongings," However, with a little extra hand hygiene, the risk for sickness by touching a bin isn't high. Next time you encounter a "belt bumper" take into consideration that policies may vary by airport, and the best way to know if you should "belt bump" or not, is to pay attention to airport signage, or ask airport staff.