Why you shouldn't bother putting a fragile sticker on your luggage - according to a former flight attendant

You might have believed that placing a fragile sticker on your luggage prior to handing it over at check-in is a way to make sure it gets handled with a little extra care.

Maybe someone told you the suitcase will be placed on top of others in the airplane cargo hold, or it might get treated as priority and come out a little quicker.

However, one former flight attendant has told 9Travel not to bother at all, as it likely won't make a difference.

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In fact, it actually might have the complete opposite effect.

"I used to see baggage handlers, this is mostly at airports in the US, sorting bags and they'd see a fragile sticker and start joking around," former cabin crew member Jen shares.

"They'd literally just throw them to each other and drop them on the pile.

"Never put a fragile sticker on your suitcase."

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Plenty of other travellers and airline workers have shared similar advice online, with many stressing that the only thing you can do to avoid damage to your belongings is to pack carefully.

Or better yet, don't pack anything breakable.

"Fragile sticker means nothing," one person wrote on Reddit. "You don't get special handling just for slapping on a sticker. It should be properly packaged to avoid that."

Others also said if the stickers look old or worn they will also be ignored, so there is not point keeping one on there 'just in case'.

"If the bag has a fragile tag that looks old or is from a different airline, then it's as good as expired," Zack, an airport crew member, told Conde Nast Traveller.

A baggage handler from Dublin Airport warned anything extra on your suitcase could interfere with the automatic scanners at airports - especially ribbons.

"Ribbons that people tie onto their suitcases to help identify them can cause issues with the bag being scanned in the baggage hall," he told RSVP Live.

He also recommended people take care to remove any old stickers on the bags otherwise it can "cause confusion with the scanning process".