You can leave your bag unattended in a lounge, but should you?
Many lounges have bag storage, underscoring that the norm is clearly that it is ok not to be with your bags all the time.
You aren’t supposed to leave bags unattended prior to security, but past security everything has already been screened. Walking away from your luggage inside the terminal might still raise flags if you’re at a gate, in a corridor, or walk away from those items at a retail shop. Far less so in a lounge!
You want to leave your belongings when you go to the buffet, get up to go to the restroom, or maybe just walk around a bit before sitting on a plane for several hours. Should you? Or should you take your stuff with you?
- It depends on the lounge. In most first class lounges (1) the space isn’t particularly busy, thieves wouldn’t blend in. Plus most passengers there probably have nicer things than I do to begin with, so what would be the point?
I’m probably not going to be super-concerned in the Singapore Airlines Private Room, the Qatar Airways al Safwa lounge in Doha, or the Etihad first class lounge in Abu Dhabi.
Etihad First Class Lounge, Abu DhabiI don’t think I’ve ever been as alone as I was in the Emirates first class lounge on the A concourse in Dubai. In fact, it was like a neutron bomb went off, the facilities were still there, and I was the last human left on earth.
Emirates A Concourse First Class Floor Of The Terminal, DubaiMaybe this isn’t correct, but my intuition is that the more premium the lounge the less worried about this that I am? I’ve never given it a second thought in the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, and I wouldn’t worry about it at all in the Air France La Premier Lounge in Paris.
On the other hand, years ago Chris Guillebeau described the old Oasia lounge at New York JFK as the ‘Star Wars galaxy bar of middle cabin travelers’. It was a super busy lounge and I just wouldn’t have felt comfortable leaving items unattended there.
Most Priority Pass-accessible lounges, in major world cities, will be very busy!
Plaza Premium Lounge DFWBut not always, and I probably wouldn’t worry about it as much when the lounge is nearly 100% empty. There are just fewer people, and only a small percentage of people would likely still if given a chance. If there’s 200 people in the lounge maybe there is one thief, but if there are 10 people in the lounge the odds seem against it.
The Club at MSY - If you take your stuff with you, don’t you give up your seats? In a busy lounge, like a Delta Sky Club, American Express Centurion lounge, or Chase Sapphire Lounge, getting up and taking your belongings means someone else is probably going to be sitting there when you get back. You need to at least leave some of your belongings to mark your territory and make sure it’s clear that the space is occupied.
Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston - I only care about laptop, wallet, and phone anyway. I’m going to take my wallet and phone with me when I get up, because it’s easy to do so and not at all inconvenient. If you take my shirts and underwear ok I guess?
That means I’m really just going to care about my laptop, because of the degree of inconvenience if it were taken during travel. But I don’t really want to take it with me to the toilet, and it’s not convenient to carry it up to a buffet and balance the computer, a plate of food and drink (or to make multiple trips because I’m encumbered by the laptop).
- How long I’m gone, and how far away I’m going, both matter. Ideally if I’m leaving my belongings behind they’re still going to be within reasonable eye shot or won’t be out of view from long. I might go to the restroom and leave my stuff behind, though if the lounge isn’t crowded I might just as easily take everything with me because I’ll still have available seating to take up when I return.
American Airlines Admirals Club, E Concourse Washington National AirportHowever, if I’m going to be gone for an extended time – maybe I’m getting a 25-minute massage in the Qantas first class lounge, I might take my bag with me. I don’t want it to appear that I’ve abandoned my belongings because of the length of time they’ve been left, and I don’t want to wonder whether my computer will still be there when I get back. That would undermine the value of the massage!
Qantas First Class Lounge, Sydney
While lounge thefts do happen on occasion, just as thefts from overhead bins happen on an aircraft – it’s quite rare.
Theft in an airport is even harder than on a plane. There’s more video cameras there than most places, and at large airports there’s more law enforcement agencies on-site than you can possibly imagine. It’s not just TSA and airport or other local police. Add in Customs and Border Patrol, DEA, and FBI to name just a few.
Committing property crimes inside an airport is rare for a reason, despite the large number of people passing through. When it happens it’s rarely motivated by personal greed – much bad behavior instead comes from substance abuse or mental health issues instead.
So worry about your stuff in a lounge to your own level of personal comfort, recognize risks are small, but don’t be stupid either.
I never think twice about leaving my bag unattended for several minutes in airport lounges unless I’m in New York or I’m using the showers.
I’ve never taken bags with me to the bathroom. I mean you wouldn’t take your smaller bag to the lav with you while in flight. But yes a really busy lounge certainly poses a certain risk.
I’m not sure if lounges have cameras. I guess phones and tablets are easy to steal, maybe laptops, a bag what to do with it options are limited unless one is leaving the airport.
I had my black carry on suitcase mistakenly taken from a flight. Luckily the FA was able to figure out who it was and called them on their cell. They had already left the airport. I think this is a big issue since everyones bag kind of looks the same these days.
I doubt a serious thief would risk stealing a bag when plenty of customers leave their wallet, purse or phone unattended and out in the open as they go to the buffet or use the toilet.
And just look at TSA lines. I’ve seen people put CASH directly in the bin. People are stupid. It’s like a dog. Criminals are less likely to break into a house with a barking dog. There’s always another house without a dog.
The only thing I’ve had stolen from a lounge were my diamond medallion and million miler bag tags.
Depending on the kindness of strangers is always nice when it works out.
What lounge you are in may be the key. As an example, the Biz class lounge in Frankfurt is a mob scene. Although most are just scarfing great hot dogs. But leaving my stuff around makes me nervous.
A few feet away from it is The Senator Lounge. FYI: It’s the lounge for Star Alliance Golds. Bigger, and seems to better handle large numbers. I have gone to the buffet and left my bags, including laptop. Didn’t make me nervous. However, if I thought about it when entering the lounge, I would have used the key lock storage bins.
Between the two lounges is the first class lounge. Very few people. Lounge staff, while very friendly, are very attentive. So, no concerns.
That’s life, I guess.
I’d say it depends on the situation.
I always bring my handbag but leave my carryons beside my chair. At times, I have asked a seated neighbor to keep an eye out for me, and I do the same if someone asks me.
I prefer to keep my items with me and it helps when I’m traveling with my wife or someone else so we can alternate going to get food, drink or to the restroom. However, I never feel unsafe leaving my bags for a few minutes in the Centurion Lounge to go get things. I’m only gone a few minutes and rightly or wrongly assume it is pretty safe in there. Now I would never leave my phone or wallet and typically put my laptop bag out of sight so someone can’t just walk by and grab it.
I pretty much judge it the way you do, Gary. I make a decision based on the situation, though I prefer not to leave them out of sight.
Alan Z – those are not hot dogs. They are frankfurters.
My wallet and phone are always on my person. If I’m traveling with a laptop, it’s my employer’s. Neither I nor they could care less about that laptop if it’s stolen. The asset value is less than de minimis, and there is no data on the laptop itself, because I do all my work in the cloud. Not to mention we use secure passwords and encryption to begin with.
@ Gary — Yes. Anyone with a credit card can gain access to a lounge, and their are thieves everywhere (look no further than our Moron Orange Leader).
@Arthur says
My bad. I stand chastised. I do like the snap of natural casing.
@George
The Senator lounge I mentioned has a few private showers, with locks.
Usually I just take my passport, my phone and my purse with me – everywhere I go. Everything else I’ve always left behind – even when I went left the lounge for some airport shopping. So far I have been lucky and nothing happened.
OK, my favorite subject- the perception of security!
In reality, the odds of your stuff being stolen is remotely small. Thieves know that there are cameras everywhere, and as Gary said, it’s the people who are having a mental issue (or literally confuse your luggage with yours) that happens all of the time.
I have lost a dozen+ credit cards over the years at airports. I have gotten every. Single. One. Of them back (eventually).
I have zero issue leaving my laptop at a bar to make a dash to the bathroom- yes, I do put the lock screen on. I know I can remotely shut down *all* of my accounts if it goes missing.
BUTTTTT… having said that, I was the victim of theft. A few years ago I was traveling my my DJI drone (it comes in its own case with a strap), and I hung it under a seat at an airport bar in B terminal at PHL. My flight was coming up, and I left it there.
I knew it when when we pulled away from the gate. I called the restaurant before takeoff, and they said they would look for it. And I took off.
When I landed, I called back- and they said they didn’t find it.
So I called PHL Airport, and got routed to PHL police and explained what happened. They acknowledged there were cameras everywhere.
BUT… They were not going to do this without:
1) Filing a police report (OK, this makes sense)
2) Having me physically come down to the airport, sign in, and review 6+ hours of video from the 12+ different cameras they had.
3) I had to do this within 1 week.
Needless to say, my time is worth more than the hours and cost it would take. (The drone was worth about $500 or so).
So yes, it’s possible to lose your stuff, and if you really want it back, they WILL find it, but at a cost.
-Jon
As a single traveler, this is an issue. I can’t watch the Cubs at Wrigley in the bleachers, as these seats are not reserved, and I’m guaranteed to lose it to get food or use the facilities. I was a the DFW flagship lounge this week and thought next trip, I’ll try this. I will pre-print a form saying: “Please do not use. I’ll be right back” and the add by hand the date and time. I wondered how long it would take someone to snatched the spot in a busy lounge?
And, BTW, two questions. Why aren’t there post security lockers for rent? The whole post security “report unattended bags” thing seems, particularly when garbage cans still exist in that space. Also, why does my airport have a station that allows you to, for a fee, send lighters and knives home, since it is located right after you clear TSA?
@Jon Biedermann, I have taken to counting everything that can be separated, that includes my waist belt, even if it is currently attached. When I leave anywhere during flying, I count and see if the number is correct. A couple of years ago I didn’t count my jacket and then took it off during a shuttle ride. Big mistake. I had to call the shuttle driver and have him return. I gave him (great guy) an extra tip but I learned. Of course the number drops if I check bags but it increases again on the other end. Go through TSA, check number on other side. Shopping, check number on exit. Eating, check number when leaving. Bathroom break, check number before exit. Line up for getting on airplane, check number. Exiting airplane, check number. Picking up checked luggage, check number. It is almost automatic.
I have seen more theft of passenger goods on the plane than in airline lounges. But a person having lounge access doesn’t exclude or minimize the possibility of the person being a thieve. The biggest thieves in the country tend to have access to a lot more money than the average passenger, and are also more likely to have access to lounges than the average passenger.
The only times I have had my items on a plane end up swiped by thieves or go unexpectedly missing, it’s happened in the forward cabins.
Passengers accidentally picking up someone else’s luggage aren’t typically thieves trying to steal the luggage, but that seems to be a recurring mistake people make with a lot of luggage looking like a lot of other luggage or even being the exact same type of luggage.
There used to be airside lockers for hire or free use at some US and EU(ropean) airports. After 9/11 they started being permanently locked and then removed. Sometimes removed because of concerns about restricted WEIs (such as grenades) or pooled explosive liquid/gels/aerosols; sometimes removed because or concerns about drug or money laundering; and/or sometimes removed for the airports own financial reasons after seeing minimal use of the airside lockers and having to maintain them (and deal with abandoned goods).
My rule of thumb is, generally, if I can see it (or can easily move to see it), I leave it. That means I’ll leave a bag without much care to grab food or drinks. I generally won’t leave anything if I’m heading to the restroom though (unless I’m gonna be in the lounge for an extended stretch).
Of course, I’ve been in some sketchy lounges where I consider the security on par with the terminal itself and I’ve been in some very exclusive lounges where I’ve literally no concerns at all about the security of my bags. But most lounges don’t fall to either extreme.
Never had anything stolen in a lounge, though I rarely leave bags unattended except for.a quick trip to the buffet or the john.
We once had a Tumi stolen off car rental shuttle bus at PHX (it was not a mistake because the thief did not leave a bag behind). My spouse tracked down the perp who was waiting in the Hertz line. The guy had absolutely no shame though his wife looked embarrassed. We should have called LEOs but we were traveling with young children. (No longer a problem as PHX monorail now goes to the rental center).
There is a growing population of trashy passengers visiting lounges (looking at you, SkyClub). I think the risk will be ever growing in the future with all of these credit card access pax worshipping their tiktok influencers.