Are your suitcases safe when you fly? A baggage handler reveals the brutal truth

Never buy cheap luggage that is too flimsy to protect what's inside - but don't go for anything too fancy either.

That's the advice of a man - unidentified - who spent one summer as a baggage handler at a UK airport.

He's now dishing on his co-workers and it ain't pretty. Just as we suspected.

The man claims to have worked as a ramp agent for a ground handling firm during the peak season of May to August.

Moving bags on and off commercial flights, he tells the Independent, was the worst job he ever had - and he came away with tales of bags being carelessly tossed from heights, deliberately thrown against walls and even licked.

That last one would be when staff spotted alcohol (from broken bottles inside) leaking through the fabric.

As for his warning about expensive cases, the fancy ones attract the attention of bored handlers looking for things to throw.

"We were taught in training that if a bag breaks or something inside it breaks, it is the fault of the passenger," he said.

And so bags were routinely kicked and intentionally thrown against the walls of aircraft holds for "fun".

block_quotes_start Bags were routinely kicked and intentionally thrown against the walls of aircraft holds for "fun" block_quotes_end

During his two days of training, he says he and his co-workers were taught to value speed above all else, since his firm would be fined if they took too long.

He reckons he handled between 100 to 120 bags a day per plane. And if a flight was due to depart shortly after landing, his team had only 20 minutes to shift the load - or the firm would be fined.

He says that when offloading luggage from a plane, one worker would pull themselves up into the aircraft's cargo space and throw bags as far as 20m to another handler, who stacked them up.

Other shocking tales include members of staff who rooted through lingerie in baggage that wasn't closed properly.

Some baggage handlers, apparently, also liked to stand beneath aircraft stairs to look up boarding passengers' skirts.

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During training, he says he and his co-workers were also warned that they would be under surveillance at all times and that any infraction would be seen.

But the seasoned pros he met on the job had a different story.

The career baggage handlers, he said, loved to tell tales of former colleagues who stole cigarettes and booze from bags.

Now he may be a great candidate for a new career as luggage adviser to the well-heeled traveller.

"When buying a bag, imagine it being thrown against the wall of the hold. I will only consider a suitcase or bag that is not rigid, and wouldn't crack or become deformed upon hitting a wall," he said.

To keep the contents of your suitcase safe, place them in the centre of the bag wrapped in pants and socks.

Liquids should go in an airtight bag with soft materials such as pyjamas on top. And disguise sexy lingerie or private essentials in innocuous clothing - or you knickers may be knicked.

If you're wondering whether it is worth using a lock on the case, better safe than sorry, he says.