Irish ultra-low-cost carrier group, Ryanair has issued a warning to passengers about traveling with black, navy, or grey suitcases.
The airline’s concern stems from the fact that these colors are very common and can easily be mistaken for someone else’s luggage at the airport.
According to travel.nine.com.au, to avoid confusion and ensure that each passenger’s belongings are correctly identified, Ryanair is advising travelers to use luggage tags with clear identification or opt for suitcases in more distinctive colors. In June, 19.3 million people travelled on one of the airline’s 106,000 flights.
“Make it easier to spot your checked-in luggage on the carousel, especially if your luggage is black, navy or grey (like 99.9 percent of the population),” Ryanair said in a statement. “Add a colourful luggage tag or ribbon to the handle so that there’s no confusion on arrival.” Or course, having a suitcase that is more recognizable makes complete sense. However, the advice to use a ribbon as a point of differentiation is a contentious one, as other airline staff have previously warned against the practice. A baggage handler from Dublin Airport warned anything extra on your suitcase could interfere with the automatic scanners at airports – especially ribbons.
“Ribbons that people tie onto their suitcases to help identify them can cause issues with the bag being scanned in the baggage hall,” he told RSVP Live. He also recommended people take care to remove any old stickers on the bags otherwise it can “cause confusion with the scanning process”
