In the United States of America, the fact that a check-in agent working for United Airlines is said to have waved through luggage that was too heavy in exchange for a tip is currently causing a stir. This is supposed to work at New York-Newark Airport.

It is well known that the agents working at the counters have a certain degree of discretion and can refrain from charging excess baggage fees if the maximum included weight of the suitcase is minimally exceeded. However, there is no legal entitlement to this goodwill. Apparently, an employee working for United Airlines at Newark Airport interpreted the topic of “discretion” in a very specific way because, according to local media reports, he actively asked for “tips” for this.

It should be noted that most airlines prohibit their employees from accepting tips. The aim is to exclude purchased decisions by staff, particularly in those areas where there is a certain degree of discretion. In everyday practice, however, it often happens that employees at check-in counters in particular are offered bribes to get better seats or to wave through suitcases that are too heavy. At least in the USA, it is absolutely not common for people to actively try to get bribes under the guise of “tips”.

Local media reports cited an affected passenger who flew from Newark last week. He claims that his suitcase weighed significantly heavier at this airport than on the outbound flight. He also states that he didn't buy anything in New York and that the contents were exactly the same as on the outbound flight. Nevertheless, the piece of luggage was said to be significantly heavier on the scales and surprisingly exceeded the included maximum weight.

The check-in agent said that it wouldn't be a problem if he received a tip. The passenger then allegedly gave the employee five US dollars in cash. The piece of luggage was then “waved through”. The employee even claimed that it was customary to show a lot of goodwill in return for a tip.

Newark Airport is now investigating allegations of bribery, but also the theoretically possible manipulation of scales. There are currently no results available, but it could have far-reaching consequences if the suspicion of the passenger who went public with the matter turns out to be true. This assumes to the United check-in employee that the scales were manipulated to the travelers' disadvantage in order to be able to collect "tips" for waving over heavy suitcases. This would even be a security-related violation, which is why it is not surprising that law enforcement authorities also want to investigate the case.