Travellers issued warning against baggage tags on suitcases

Many of us like to personalise our luggage so that it's easier to identify when we're collecting it in the baggage hall, whether it's a protective covering or a cute tag.

But could you be making a huge mistake without realising?

Anyone who's arrived at their destination to find their suitcase has gone AWOL will know just how frustrating it can be.

At best, you're left waiting a few hours for it to appear as the empty carousel continues to go round.

At worst, it never even shows up... and you end up spending a week in 'I LOVE BARCELONA' t-shirts and novelty flip-flops.

Naturally, you would assume that anything you can do to make the process smoother will be beneficial, with many people choosing to make their case as recognisable as possible so it can't get confused with anyone else's.

Everyone wants to avoid the stress of a lost suitcase (Craig Hastings/Getty)

Sometimes you'll even spot yours being loaded onto the plane if you're eagle-eyed enough.

However, one baggage handler has warned there are a couple of things you may have been getting all wrong.

John, who works at Dublin Airport, told RSVP Live that there are a few things to avoid to help ensure a smooth transition.

"Take old stickers off your bag," he warned, adding: "It can cause confusion with the scanning process."

Yep, while it can feel nice and nostalgic to leave all those old luggage tags on your suitcase, conjuring up happy memories of holidays gone by, according to John, it could end up complicating things as it's scanned.

John advised never travelling with old luggage tags (Tetra Images/Getty Images)

He also advised never tying a ribbon around your bag, continuing: "Ribbons that people tie onto their suitcases to help identify them can cause issues with the bag being scanned in the baggage hall. If the bag can't be scanned automatically, it can end up in manual processing, which could mean your bag doesn't make it to the flight."

Something else to avoid is packing marzipan in your luggage, and that one's down to a particularly surprising reason.

"It has the same density as some explosives so your bag will be removed and you’ll be called from the plane for a bag search," John said.

Finally, he adds: "Place your suitcase wheels up for less damage."

While we're on a roll with travel advice, it's also worth sharing some stellar knowledge about staying calm during turbulence.

Pilot Jimmy Nicholson, from Sydney, also recently shared his advice on how to keep calm while flying - proving how there's often nothing to be worried about.

He took to TikTok to share a recording of him during some particularly bad turbulence (in this case, he was a passenger, rather than the pilot).

He held a water bottle to the camera, and the water within it stayed quite still despite the plane shaking.

He used his bottle to show that the plane wasn't rocking as much as it seemed.

He then added: "Nothing to worry about.

"Planes are built to withstand way worse. [It's] not fun, evidently, but [it's] completely fine."

One person praised: "This helps so much! We need more pilots to post about the stuff the rest of us think will be the last minutes of our lives."

Good to know - I feel much more prepared for my next airport trip now.