Baggage Handler at Honolulu Airport Shamed for Tossing Bags

After video footage of a seemingly careless baggage handler at Honolulu Airport (HNL) went viral, Twitter went up in arms. Passenger Vanessa Marsh (@vanessaleemarsh) recorded luggage from a Hawaiian Airlines flight as it was tossed down a chute to be transferred to the plane. One thing’s for sure: We sure hope it’s not your luggage.

The mystery of all my broken suitcases is solved – this is the ground crew at Honolulu loading up a @HawaiianAir flight to Phoenix. ?‍♀️?‍♀️?‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/rPwVobqXZO

— Vanessa Marsh (@vanessaleemarsh) May 9, 2018

It’s clear in the video that the luggage could have been handled with greater care, and, as expected, commenters blew up the post with replies that reflected their distaste for the “service.”

One person was not impressed with the effort of the baggage handler.

The laziest person ever.

— Jessica ? (@dramadeee) May 29, 2018

Another had a pretty reasonable observation.

Considering how much airfares are, I don’t think just a tiny bit more care is too much to ask.

— Bonny Cotter (@EstherFour14) May 10, 2018

However, others didn’t choose to blame the worker – instead, they called for the airport to improve working conditions to make the baggage handler’s job easier.

Twitter user Teresa Boyd acknowledged the concern of poor design without ignoring the lack of respect that the worker shows in the video.

1-you have a worker that is not happy with her job and does not respect others property.
2- there is a design flaw – she has to lift the bags over the rail and drop into the slide. This needs to be redesigned and engineered to be safe and ergonomic for the worker.
(Cont…)

— Teresa Boyd (@missyprim1) May 10, 2018

Another user suggested that passenger expectations should be lowered as the process is not gentle.

This is how you should expect your luggage to be treated. It’s not a gentle process. Bubble wrap is your friend. Also, it’s pretty easy to sit in an office and criticize someone who does physical labor outdoors for a living so you can go on vacation. Cut her some slack.

— Kevin Pierce (@K_D_Pierce) May 29, 2018

In response to Vanessa’s tweet, Hawaiian Airlines commented expressing apologies and ensuring that the airport would address the problem.

Aloha Vanessa, we’re very sorry to see this and appreciate you bringing it to our attention. The way these bags were handled is not acceptable and our Airport Operations Management team is addressing this situation. Thank you.

— Hawaiian Airlines (@HawaiianAir) May 10, 2018 

Regardless of Twitter’s response to the baggage handler video, most travelers can agree they’d like their bags to be handled with care. And in the event that they’re not, it can pay to have luggage protection, a benefit offered on the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card.

Featured image by izusek/Getty Images.