14 DAY TRIAL // Two Air Canada baggage handlers were filmed dropping luggage from the top of a movable staircase directly into a bin on the ground and the video of the incident has quickly gone viral after being posted on YouTube on Thursday.
As it turns out, the airline's employees were tasked with moving luggage that had to be gate-checked because it wouldn’t fit on the plane. They were reportedly working under pressure, so they decided to drop the items from six meters (19.7 feet) off the ground instead of carefully carrying them all the way down.
According to CBC News, the video has been captured by a passenger who was waiting to fly to Vancouver on Flight AC137 from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
After the footage circulated all over social media, Air Canada had to deal with a lot of criticism for its employees' lack of professionalism, and decided to fire the two workers as a result of the incident.
“Their employment will be terminated pending the outcome of our investigation,” spokeswoman Angela Mah said, highlighting that company procedures call for gate-checked luggage to be carried to planes by hand.
On the other hand, Bill Trbovich, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, explains that when one flight is very crowded and there’s no more room for baggage in the cabin, some passengers have to check their carry-on luggage at the gate.
In such situations, luggage handlers are forced to take the extra items outside very quickly so that the flight isn’t delayed, as the “management is pushing them to get the planes out on time,” Trbovich says, trying to justify their gesture.
“You’re constantly looking over your shoulder. You go about your business trying to do your job and you’ve got to be cognizant of where you are to make sure you don’t hurt yourself or fall down or something, and to worry about whether somebody’s taking your picture through an airplane window,” he adds.
After watching the video, some have said that Air Canada should not be judged by one incident, but others have observed that the two baggage handlers don't seem to be worried about other people seeing them, which points to the fact that this is actually a common practice among employees.
Well, next time you are traveling by plane, make sure you take any expensive equipment out of the baggage before handing it over.
