Saw an unusual situation after a long haul flight from Europe to the US while waiting at baggage claim.
At the carousel there was one young airport employee trying to manage the luggage, repositioning bags so the belt wouldn’t jam. The bags were coming out quickly and she was clearly struggling to keep up.
When the flight crew from the same flight arrived, they stood near the belt waiting for their bags but instead of grabbing them themselves, they reportedly asked the employee to pull their luggage off the carousel first.
Meanwhile the employee was already overwhelmed trying to keep the belt clear. After a while another passenger stepped in to help move bags because it looked like too much for one person.
It raised the question of whether crew members are actually expected to wait for ground staff to handle their bags, or if they’re allowed to just grab them like everyone else.
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