Pro cyclist tweets picture of bike destroyed by baggage handlers

I worked at Gatwick Airport as a baggage handler for a year. They don't hate cyclists, they hate extra, heavy work. The airport has a new multi-million-pound state of the art baggage handling system for standard bags (only) so that lifting is at a minimum. Makes it quick and easier. Try lifting 20Kg + bags all day for 8 to 12 hours for 5 or 6 days a week! But anything oversized becomes an annoying pain in the neck and is treated as such and with contempt. There is a hardcore of guys who have done it for years and don't give a shit about anything other than avoiding work and going home. Don't get me wrong there are some guys do care if a bag falls off the conveyor belt  or it is miss-sorted and they try to get it on the correct plane but most of the time it is all such a rush that they are just constantly struggling to keep up. So the big bulky items get annoying. The first time I saw how they treated bikes I was horrified. I questioned why they would stack (throw) four 20kg bags on top of a layer of bike bags he said "Those F^ckers are going on holiday and I'm not, so F^ck 'em!"  Use a bike box every single time! When you are trained as a baggage handler you are told that anyone packing their bag should throw their suitcase down the stairs to see if it is packed properly and their suitcase is strong enough.  Bike Box. Bike Box. Bike Box.

Last time I took my bike to Switzerland it arrived but I've never seen the wheels since. I reckon they went to Turkey or somewhere.

this is precisely why i'm driving mates to do RAID alpine and not flying easyjet, though i did say eurostar and SNCF would be the optimum in terms of cost (£140 return plus £40 for bike on Eurostar only), bike security, journey time and by far most comfortable journey.

I landed yesterday from Mallorca at Luton airport having flown with Monarch.  I use a Buxumbox, which is a hard aluminium case.  On arrival it has a massive dent in the corner, far beyond the anticipated and perhaps reasonable level of scuff and scrape you'd expect.

The problem I've found is the more you try to protect your bike the less care you actually get, a metal box seems to incite some sort of inner destruction instinct as it appears to be unbreakable.

The worst thing is reporting the damage.  I went to the baggage desk and was told 'it's just a dent so we're not liable' with the guy stating 'the box has done its job' combined with an attitude that proved he couldn't give a toss about your belongings.

They've also managed to scrape one of the wheels so badly that it no longer rolls, something else they've claimed is not eligible for a claim. 

Additionally, when I was waiting for oversize baggage to arrive a group of 5 lads accompanied by a member of staff came into the hall clutching new shoe boxes, all wearing brand new high viz jackets.  It was quite clear they are agency baggage handlers and being shown the ropes on their first day.

Fact is when you try your best to protect your belongings the people out the back appear to show a level of contempt that borders on criminal damage.  The force my bike box has absorbed is pretty scary and all you get is some disinterested numpty fob you off that the level of damage is perfectly acceptable 'as its done its job'.

It can no longer do its job as the crease is so bad the side panels have distorted so I now face a battle to get it repaired. 

I often wonder if the best thing you can do is not use a box at all, that way they are forced to take care with your bike and can't lob it around.  I'm quite prepared to file the claim with the county court if they keep insisting the damage is ok, utterly fed up with the attitudes we're all familiar with.

Earlier in the year I was working at Gatwick fixing the conveyor belts and what I saw was an eye-opener 

Official geezers would trundle up in a cart and then pull out a massive set of keys and what seemed to be indiscrimantely, pick any case and open it, rummage around and then close it. Only for it to spring open further down the line and reveal its contents to whomever fancied what was on offer.

I've seen Louis Vuitton bags slide off baggage carts at speed and land on the tarmac, with the driver sauntering off into the distance totally oblivious.

You need a five year checkable work history to work at Gatwick, but I've met many whom are definitely not from this country, can't even speak English and don't give a shit about ANY luggage.

They are constantly advertising for staff wanted at the airport for minimum wage, so what do you expect?

A buddy of  mine was travelling to Ireland and had a brand-new pair of Levis nicked from his bag and several small computer components.

If you're stupid enough to leave or carry valuables in your bag; then more fool you. 

1/ One would think this bike has been damaged on one of the automatic carousels.

2/ Owner needs to fill out Damaged Baggage Claim Form if not completed at airport.

3/ Travel Insurance may cover this loss. Probably not.

4/ Airlines do operate a special system of insurance when flying with expensive items of baggage.

The answer is to use a hard plastic bicycle box, especially for fragile stuff like that obviously brittle/expensive carbon-fibre frame. Soft bags are probably only sensible for carrying a bicycle and carriage where you can keep an eye on it. Anything long distance should probably be put in a tough wood crate.

Flying your bike used to be free or very cheap.

Then airlines cottoned on to the fact they could rape you for up to £100 return for it.

So Ok fine, rape me, but for Christ's sake for £100, treat my bike with some respect. 

I too have filmed baggage handlers in France dropping suitcases and my bike bag from about 4 metres. 

I used to use EVOC, had some damage, now use BikeBoxAlan, but with these clowns, nothing is safe 100%.

And yes it's the airline that bears the responsibility; I have no control over who they use to handle.

So pursue them every time until they get the message.

With apologies to those who find this too commercial for a forum, but I think it's very relevant and when posted before in relation to airline bike damage we get a big response, but whis is precisely why we take our riders' bikes and bags from the UK down to lovely places like the Alps, Pyrenees, and Mont Ventoux by road for them. We fervently believe that bikes don't fly!

Have a look at the little film at http://www.lavieenvelo.com/cycle.../file/getting_there.php

Looking at where the downtube snapped, that took a LOT of force, so something mechanical did it rather than a human.   End-on pressure on the bag could leave the wheels unscathed if it was crushed between two things more than 700mm apart

Like it or not, international freight does involve some bumps and knocks. That's why goods are shipped in corrugated steel shipping containers and not soft bags.

Packing valuable cargo in a soft bag is a gamble - unless baggage handlers know that a bag contains fragile contents, they will assume it contains what might be expected to be in such a bag - clothes. That may result in them throwing a few solid cases on top. I don't see any markings on the bag in the picture that indicate that's it's contents are fragile, or that it contains a bike.

And even if a bag is marked fragile - that won't save it from the powerful motorised pushers and grabbers  in an airport conveyor system.

Even a cardboard box offers more protection that one of those soft bike bags.

Sure, technically it's the airline's fault if something goes wrong, and you'll get a bit of cash, but you're the one stuck without a bike on a cycling holiday.

That's got to be more than transit damage, that looks like it's been run over by a truck! And where are the wheels?? Sounds like I'm not alone in suspecting there's more to this story than simply "baggage handlers". It's also a good reason to never use a Scicon bag.

Anyway, it's not EasyJet, it's the baggage handlers and given that the airport employs them, refusing to ever fly EasyJet again isn't the ansswer cos it'll be the same people moving the same suitcases along the same conveyor belts no matter who you're flying with!

It looks a bit like a carbon fibre Brompton now.

It looks like one of those puzzles where you had to untangle two paper clips 

Stop blaming the victim - those tossers (pun intended) should be the first to be replaced by robots. Then they'll bitch and moan and strike and cry and plead and sh!t themselves........

Can't figure out how the frame got so damaged if the wheels are fine... given that they sit either side of the frame when packed. No pics of the wheels? Can't help but think there is something not quite right with this story.

Get a Buxum bike box, properly built to withstand almost the worst abuse baggage handlers can throw at them. But there is logic to using something as simple as the CTC clear  plastic bike bag. But not for a carbon frame.

Softbag... not what i would put a carbon bike in.

That beeing said if i can avoid it i travel without bikebag: pedals off, detach handlebar (wrap to frame with ducktape/strips), seatpost down, chain off, rear-derailure off.

But i have a non-butted TI frames and alost nver fly with my carbon wheels (and if i do, i rent a flightcase from airshells.com)

Only damages from +40 flights:

1 bend (replaceable) ti-geardrop that a local bikeshop in Bologna managed to straighten out.

1 dinged campy v-profile alu rim (still dead straght but braking is kind of funny - just found an identical Campy Seoul rim so i can rebuild that front wheel).

Norwegian seems to have their own ground crew, at least in Barcelona.
So far my bike has survived in an Evoc bag.
I try to avoid Ryanair, Vueling and easyJet.

Is this really an Easyjet issue? Or a Menzies issue?

Not really the best advert for Scicon bags either!