A behind-the-scenes look inside one of the world’s busiest airports has made travellers think twice about what they put inside their bags.
A video of a machine aggressively pushing luggage between conveyer belts was posted by actor and filmmaker Felix Perales on TikTok, and has been viewed more than 3 million times.
"Now I know what happened to my luggage last time," Mr Perales said in the caption.
In the video, a number of bags are travelling down a conveyer belt when a large robotic arm 'punches' the bags onto a different belt.
The force is so hard it causes the suitcases to slam into the opposing wall.
The baggage processing machine is considered common practice, with the system believed to also exist in Australian airports.
Someone in the comments has speculated it happens at "every major airport," suggesting this one was at Los Angeles International (LAX) Airport.
"Machine woke up and choose violence," one person said.
"Why I use cheap luggage and pack safely," another said.
"Calling all airport baggage sorting area managers out there! Please re-evaluate your baggage handling system," said a third person. "It's not a good idea!"
The video has made many question what type of luggage they use.
"Ok I need a metal suitcase NOW," one person said, to which Mr Perales replied with “For real !!! even hard case isn’t safe”.
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It also made travellers worry about their fragile items which could potentially be damaged by an aggressive push.
"When they label the package “Fragile” does it go into the same machine??" an alarmed TikToker said.
"The fact that I have not had anything broken is wild to me," said another.
"Not me putting a fragile sticker on my suitcase and thinking it would be lovingly carried to plane and strapped into its own baggage seat," a third person said.
A baggage handler confirmed in the comments that those with a 'fragile' tag essentially get treated the same way.
"I’m a baggage handler and trust me fragile sticker items get treated no different," he said on TikTok.
"Pack your stuff well and cushion glass/fragile items".
Though another person mentioned some baggage carousel machines "have diverters like train tracks" and are "less aggressive," making for "easier maintenance".
An Australian traveller had also taken to social media about a baffling airport matter.
The woman, who posted a photo of her luggage in the Facebook group Bali Bogans, asked about why one of her suitcases came out of an airport conveyor belt with an orange cable tie on one of the handles.
"Does anyone know what this cable tie on our bags means? Arrived last night and one bag took a bit longer and came out with this tag. I’m guessing it was inspected?" the woman asked in a post.
Many speculated the reason behind the tag, with Martin Engeler, Managing Director of Brisbane-based aviation security consultancy firm Airline Tactical Solutions, explaining that it sends a message to customs to check that bag.
"It's for people who try to bring in stuff like electronics," he told Yahoo News Australia.
Mr Engeler also revealed that cable ties are used by airport personnel to secure luggage that they suspect had been tampered with.
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