The Airports Company South Africa says it has reported a notable dip in baggage tampering and theft at its airports and says it is pulling out all the stops to eradicate the problem through the implementation of heightened security measures.

It confirmed that at least five OR Tambo airport workers had been fired for luggage theft in recent weeks, two of whom were arrested.
 
The airport operator has also claimed that incidents of baggage tampering had declined from approximately 18 out of every 1000 passengers who departed in January 2010 to 10.4 out of 1,000.

The global average, it reported, is currently in the region of 12 cases per 1,000 passengers. However, the claims have been met with some degree of scepticism by passengers and the travel industry as many incidents go unreported.

Have you noticed less trouble with tampering? Or are our airports still too light-fingered? Tell us about your experiences below...