DETROIT – The spring travel season has begun with spring breakers and Easter vacation-goers boarding flights over the next few days.
If you have checked your bag at Detroit Metro Airport this year, you are one of the million or so who have done so in the past three months. After they take your bag, label it, and put it on the conveyor belt., have you ever wondered where it goes?
It takes an average of 11-13 minutes to travel from check-in to your plane’s gate.
Local 4 was given a rare look inside the operation, with permission from the airline and TSA. A GoPro camera attached to a bag captured what happens to all the luggage that gets checked in.
You can watch the full GoPro clip in the video player up above.
Behind the scenes is a system of conveyor belts moving bags from the check-in location to the belly of the plane. A bag can travel, in some cases, more than a mile depending on what gate your plane is located at.
The bag will go through TSA’s explosive detection system and an operator will receive an alert if the bag has been flagged by the equipment.
---> A look behind the scenes of explosive detection at Detroit Metro Airport
If something is deemed suspicious in your bag, it winds up in a robot room that moves bags from station to station. If there’s anything questionable, the bags are brought in and inspected on another level.
There are also mobile inspection tables that allow officers to focus on the screening. There’s no lifting and no concerns about having to do anything regarding the movement of bags because that part is automated. It’s an efficient system that also provides a greater deal of security.
More than six million bags went through explosive detection systems at DTW in 2023, but only 2%-3% received additional physical screenings.