--- title: Airport Luggage Video description: See how checked luggage travels through the airport canonical: https://time.com/4378225/luggage-airport-airlane/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-22T20:38:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:33:38.626Z og:title: Renew Your Faith in Baggage Claim With This Video og:description: Follow luggage on a Rube Goldberg-worthy system of wheels and conveyor belts og:url: https://time.com/4378225/luggage-airport-airlane/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Renew Your Faith in Baggage Claim With This Video twitter:description: Follow luggage on a Rube Goldberg-worthy system of wheels and conveyor belts twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Go Behind the Scenes of Your Luggage's Journey to the Airplane by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jun 22, 2016 8:38 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jun 22, 2016 8:38 PM UTC Travelers may be more inclined to bring their bags on board the plane with them due to seemingly [exorbitant bag-checking fees](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/07/luggage-loopholes-5-creative-ways-to-avoid-airline-fees/?iid=sr-link5), and there’s always the fear that the airline might [lose](http://business.time.com/2012/06/19/airlines-could-be-forced-to-pay-you-if-they-misplace-your-luggae-even-temporarily/?iid=sr-link4) your stuff. But a recent [Smithsonian Channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqPRUsJlZaDp-PVbqEch9g) video might convince travelers to trust the system. The video shows how passengers’ bags (usually, mostly) land on the right plane and finally, back to their owners at the end of the trip. The magic begins with an airline employee strapping the unique tag to your luggage, and then viewers can follow it on a Rube Goldberg-worthy system of wheels and conveyor belts that travel within the entrails of the airport, before eventually ending with a [luggage handler](http://time.com/41077/lax-baggage-handlers/?iid=sr-link8) who will chuck your suitcase onto (hopefully) the correct plane. It’s a fascinating system that makes [checking a bag](http://time.com/12835/travelers-its-about-damn-time-airlines-toughened-up-baggage-policies/?iid=sr-link9) almost seem foolproof. Except, of course, when it isn’t. Watch below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4378225/luggage-airport-airlane/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4378225/luggage-airport-airlane/"},"headline":"Go Behind the Scenes of Your Luggage's Journey to the Airplane","datePublished":"2016-06-22T20:38:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:33:38.626Z","description":"See you on the other side, luggage","url":"https://time.com/4378225/luggage-airport-airlane/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Travel","Airport","Viral Videos","luggage"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4378225/luggage-airport-airlane/","name":"Go Behind the Scenes of Your Luggage's Journey to the Airplane"}}]}] ```