It certainly does happen, and perhaps it's miraculous that it doesn't happen more often. It's not so much the luggage coming off an international flight that causes concern. Since the baggage hall at international terminals is a controlled area, and you have yet to pass through customs after collecting your luggage from the carousel, it would require a thief to be disembarking from an international flight, and confident they could pass through customs without being stopped. Unless the thief knew for certain that what was inside was high value items, the theft would not justify the high risk. Far more likely that having your bag hoisted off the carousel and disappear out the door is an honest mistake, a case of mistaken bag identity, and bag and owner are soon reunited in the majority of cases. That's another reason to make your own suitcase stand out from the crowd with a coloured luggage strap or a piece of fabric tied around the handle, with your name and contact details inside. Theft from a carousel is more likely to happen from a domestic flight, when anyone can wander into the collection area and help themselves. There are security measures in place in the form of security cameras or security officials in some airports, but there are some places where it pays not to tarry en route to the carousels.

I'D LOVE A HOLIDAY TO PHONPEI, CHUUK, YAP, SAIPAN AND GUAM, 3-7 DAYS EACH, BUT I CAN'T FIND A WAY TO DO THIS. K. DEGUET, DRUMMOYNE

United Airlines (united.com) has flights that connect Yap, Guam, Chuuk, Phonpei and Kosrae. United also operates flights from Manila to Guam and this is by far the easiest way to get there. Although each of the individual states has its own unique topography, culture and customs, most visitors confine themselves to one or two of the islands. Kosrae is possibly the winner of the Micronesian beauty pageant, known for its virgin reef and also for its World War II artefacts, cave systems and the ancient Lelu ruins, shrouded in mystery. Pohnpei is the largest and best developed and also the best equipped with hotels and tour services. It's also spectacularly wet, and amply furnished with rainforest and rivers. The only factors that prevent these islands from being high on the tourist radar are their isolation and the extortionate airfares.

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