A Houston man watched from his United window seat as handlers loaded his bag, then saw it get ‘shaved by the belt’

Cycle World senior editor and motorcycle reviewer Justin Dawes (justindawes) was recently waiting on his United Airlines flight in Houston when he saw something go awry with his luggage. His subsequent Instagram post calling out United’s baggage handlers went on to rack up over a million views.

The video shows the baggage handlers loading his large bag but failing to notice that it wasn’t properly aligned on the belt. As they all leave, the bag catches on the edge and gets stuck, visibly shaking as the conveyor belt pushes it against the chute. In the overlay, Dawes noted that the trip was going great until he watched his “bag get shaved by the belt… FOR TWO MINUTES!!!” The footage even captures one handler walking past and not noticing the stuck bag.

At the end of the video, however, Dawes notes in the overlay that a “hero arrives.” This is another baggage handler who is driving by in an empty baggage cart. The driver jumps out of the vehicle and flags down the handler who was standing by the belt, and together they straighten the bags so that Dawes’ bag can be loaded into the cargo bay.

One ramp agent says the equipment can damage bags too

While some luggage damage during travel can come from rough handling by workers, one handler shared a TikTok last year arguing that the industrial system can also be at fault. In the video, Australian ramp agent Maddy Roberts explained that the heaviest damage to luggage often comes from friction or impact with the airport’s baggage handling equipment, per Nine.

If a passenger’s bag arrives damaged, the Department of Transportation notes that airlines are responsible for repairing or reimbursing for any damage that occurred while the item was under their control. However, they are not responsible for pre-existing issues or damage caused by improper packing.

The DOT advises that passengers file a baggage claim as soon as possible, before leaving the airport. It also noted that passengers should document everything, including taking photos of the damage and keeping boarding passes and baggage tags.

In his caption, Dawes revealed that the oddly shaped bag held his bike. He wrote, “I took every precaution to protect my bike, and still your ground crew tried (or didn’t try depending on how you look at it) their best to do some damage.”

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify United’s side of the story, as this account originates solely from Dawes’ Instagram post.