How the latest airport trend ‘belt bumping’ is infuriating passengers: ‘Horrible etiquette and disrespectful’
Politely queuing to check your luggage before getting boarding passes and heading to security is how many holidays abroad begin.
But going through browsers brings with it an annoying problem of its own: the problem of ‘belt bumpers’.
The airport security process begins with passengers frantically decanting liquids and placing their 100ml bottles into bags, while also removing their laptops from their carry-on luggage and placing them individually on the tray.
Once the flock of bags have successfully passed through the scanners, there are often eager holidaymakers waiting to collect their luggage and head for a classic pint at the airport before catching their flight.
This is a term defined as ‘belt impingement’. MetroIt can happen annoyingly.
The annoying habit that many travelers are guilty of means people fail to collect their trays and put them away properly after collecting their belongings.
Some holidaymakers may remove their belongings from the tray while they are still on the conveyor belt and leave them there, causing a buildup while other trays are processed.
Others take the tray to the unloading tables but do not stack it neatly with other empties.
The annoying habit many travelers are guilty of means people fail to collect their trays and put them away properly after collecting their belongings
Despite written signals and even verbal instructions from airport staff trying to ensure things go smoothly, many still participate in the ‘belt bumping’ act.
It’s frustrating for those following the rules and Blaise Kelly, 26, told the Metro: ‘This is appalling etiquette and disrespectful to the queues and staff at the airport. ‘This is also a request from staff, so you choose to ignore them.’
Charlotte Howard, 26, takes matters into her own hands: ‘I started passive-aggressively putting everyone’s trays back and giving the security staff a big smile as I left.’
Many passengers expressed their discomfort with the issue on social media, and one person, @mariadinca_, shared a video on TikTok outlining ‘airport security tray etiquette’.
In the video, a holidaymaker shows how to pick up a tray and stack it neatly.
The caption reads: ‘Every time I travel I’m amazed at how many people leave them on the conveyor belt, leading to further delays and more work for airport staff or other passengers to attend to.’
Another person, who went to @mybreakingviews, shared a video and said: ‘Just wanted to say, can we put our trays aside when we go through security? It takes less than 20 seconds and I swear it speeds up the process.’
Meanwhile, @echobravoclub shared on TikTok how it really ‘bothers’ people when they abandon their trays.
Others take the tray to their unloading table but fail to stack it properly with the other empty trays.
The video caption read: ‘How annoying are people who don’t put their trays back after going through security?
‘It just slows it down. Just put your tray back.’
But there are possible reasons why travelers may not put trays away properly.
Etiquette expert Laura Windsor pointed out that some holidaymakers may have their hands full with children or elderly relatives.
He argues that just because someone is ‘belted in’ doesn’t mean they have ‘bad etiquette’, and even goes so far as to say ‘it’s not mandatory and it’s not the passenger’s responsibility’.
Concern about hygiene and infection is another possible reason; Some travelers want to avoid getting sick for their holidays.
Forbes A study published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases in 2018 reported that trays were often guilty of harboring viruses.
Researchers sampled trays and other items at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Finland.
Despite written signals and even verbal instructions from airport staff trying to keep things running smoothly, many are still participating in the ‘belt busting’ act
The results revealed that four of the eight luggage trays they tested at security tested positive for viruses that cause common respiratory illnesses.
They found adeno, influenza A, rhino and human corona OC43 in the trays.
However, some holidaymakers are not afraid to use the safety trays and there is a tendency to place items on the tray in an ‘aesthetic’ way, take photos and share them on social media.
In a video posted by @georgiasianxx, two women are seen taking photos of carefully placed items such as lip gloss, headphones and a purse.
