Social media can be a great treasure trove of hacks and tips for travel, but experts have warned of the dangers of certain trends, saying it could lead to serious legal issues. One of these videos, posted to Tiktok by @travelwithjayberg, is captioned in “Unethical Travel Hacking”.
The video suggests that people who are exceeding the limits of their cabin luggage will find a safe place to “hidge” their secondary bags before checking out other bags. “Whether it's a prospect, or hidden in someone else's bag or cafe, you just find somewhere to hide it.”
He then recommends returning to pick up the hidden bag and bringing it to the plane like that.
But Adam Ewart, travel expert and CEO of a luggage carrier, says he'll send my luggage. I say this is a terrible idea for a number of reasons.
Adam said: “We all know the frustration of lifting a bag to the scale of a luggage, but you have to make an extra payment just to know that it's exceeding its limits. But this hack is not fraudulent and is dangerous.
“Don't leave your luggage at the airport. A complete stop. Not only is it stolen, but unmanned bags can cause major security concerns and evacuation. The result is well above the limit and far exceeding the cost of a few kilometres.”
Instead of putting legal consequences or losing your luggage at risk, Adam recommends that people instead search for smarter packs to stay below the limits.
He said: “If you're worried about overweight luggage, there's a much safer and easier way to cut back. Start by packing smarter – start by folding, limiting shoes, rolling the weight of your bags at home. And if you need more than the airline allows, consider sending my bags, or especially providing a dedicated service that will cost more money, especially to send out my bags.”