Are Red Bags Really Loaded First On Airplanes? Why The Claim Doesn't Make Sense

Back in April of 2024, a TikTok video went viral. And to quote the late, great, Douglas Adams: "This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." It's not the first time — and certainly won't be the last — that a video went viral without facts behind it, as most social media platforms are full of unsubstantiated rumors, QAnon conspiracies, baseless theories, and flat-out lies. Like getting a free Dodge Hellcat by joining the Army, for example. Or that Chevrolet is releasing a Malibu hybrid in 2026. (It's not.)

The video in question this time claims that, for some reason, red bags are loaded onto airplanes first — which then means they're also the last bags to come out of the hold once a flight has landed. It's gotten millions of views and thousands of shares, with loads of comments theorizing on why airlines do this and how it might be best to avoid flying with red luggage.

Whether the video was made with the intention to mislead people is open to interpretation, but getting right to the point: No, airlines don't actually load red bags first. In fact, there are more reasons for airlines to not do that than arguments that could be made in favor of the fictitious practice. Private jet passengers could theoretically experience something like this since there are far fewer people on private flights, but not the average flyer.

As tends to be the case with bizarre rumors and conspiracies, the most basic explanation is often the correct one. Airlines aren't going to load luggage by the color of the bag simply because they don't have time to bother sorting and organizing them all by color. Separating out all the red luggage in order to load it first would, at best, arbitrarily delay takeoff.

Freight — if there is any on the flight, of course — is what really gets loaded first, followed by customer baggage (not by color). However, there is one surefire way to get your luggage off the plane and onto the carousel before everyone else on the flight: Pay for it. Traveling First Class, or being a frequent flyer with a particular airline (requirements vary depending on the company) will net you priority bag handling. And priority bag handling means your luggage should reach the baggage claim ahead of less-frequent Coach passengers.

There are also some assertions that checking your baggage at the gate, or waiting to check your bag until the last minute, results in earlier offloading. But this is not guaranteed, and baggage marked as a priority will still be at the front of the line.