You walk into the airport and put your bags onto a conveyor belt at check-in. You walk away, get on the plane, fly to your destination, and there is your bag on another conveyor belt waiting for you to pick it up.
How does that happen?
Stephen Linson is an airline ramp agent in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has a TikTok account where he posts videos answering questions like that. His videos give us a perspective of the travel business we normally don’t get to see.
For example, here’s a timelapse video from the cargo hold. You can see all of the different bags coming in, all being stacked up to fit into the available space.
@clt_vip Realities from Cargo. #TubiTaughtMe #iCarlyAffirmation #adultswim #adultswimchallenge #vibewithus #aviation
In this video, he says the outside air temperature was about 95 degrees … so inside of the cargo hold it was well over 100 degrees! Despite the heat, they are in there making sure that luggage is loaded onto an airplane…
@clt_vip More Luggage Realities! #BombPopAwards #AsSceneOnTubi #PrimeDayDealsDance #AsSceneOnTubi #icarlyaffirmation #adultswim
Here is all of the action that happens when a plane lands and pulls into the gate…
@clt_vip Time lapse inbound action. #McDonaldsCCSing #VideoSnapChallenge #StrikeAPosay #NewYearNewMiO #airport #airplane #ramper
Here’s everything that happens when the plane pushes away from the gate!
@clt_vip “Clear for Pushback!”#GreenScreenTile #readysetgo #CoupledUp #DogPerson #ShredWithBillAndTed #snapshot #fyp #foryou #aviation #airport #airplane
Sometimes there are things other than bags in the cargo hold of an airplane…
@clt_vip Little time lapse action! #ThisIsBliss #OutfitChange #GetFit #ACupgrade #fyp #foryou #aviation #airplane #work #workflow #clt
He also runs through an airplane engine on an Airbus 321 NEO – how they are designed and how they work!
@clt_vip Engine Check!#PepsiApplePieChallenge #SimlishSessions #CompleteMyLook #JuntosImparables #MyColoredHair
And here’s how a ramp agent cools down after a big flight! lol
@clt_vip There’s a fan on the plane! #JuntosImparables #BombPopAwards #AsSceneOnTubi #icarlyaffirmation #adultswim #airplane
I love social media accounts like this. Stephen is giving us a look inside something many of us would never get to see. I’ll definitely be thinking about the team outside next time I hop onto an airplane. It’s amazing to think how many people are traveling, how many bags are coming through an airport, and yet MOST of the time, they end up getting exactly where they need to go.
You can follow him on TikTok and Instagram.
