How To Pack Fragile Items For Travelling

You could be going back home from a trip to the Islands, Asia, Europe or any other country. During your trip, you might have purchased simply irresistible fragilities such as plates, mugs or wine glasses. You could also be travelling with fragile items as gifts to your hosts in your new destination. Whatever the reason, you will have to know some few tricks on how to pack these fragile goods, to avoid having them destroyed during transit.

Wrap them

When you are travelling with fragile items, you will not have the luxury of limiting the number of things that go into your suitcase. This is because you will need both wraps (which take extra space) and cushions (not literally) for your items. Best wraps for items like glass or china items are paper, bubble wrap or clothes. Wrapping them prevents their chances of breaking when hit and also keeps them from scratching.

Cushion them

You have to create a shock-absorbing cushion around the fragile items. Since you do not want to carry unnecessary luggage with you, you will have to use the clothes you are going to use during your trip. The cushion is created by placing a good wall around all edges of your suitcase including the top and bottom. The fragile items should be placed in the inside of this fortress made of cloth and never close to the edges.

Pack densely

Minimal as you would like to be, leaving spaces for movement or force inside your suitcase while carrying fragile items will only lead to their damage. The suitcase should not be so tightly packed that the pressure from its contents should break the fragile items. However, it should be compact enough that when subjected to an outside force such as a punch or a fall, there will not be much movement of the contents. This way, the fragile items will be safer.

Carry on extremely fragile items

Unless it is in liquid form or considered a weapon, items that are too valuable for you such as jewellery, paintings etc. can be put in your carry-on luggage. You just have to ensure that the item is allowed by the carry on regulations of the airlines you will be travelling by.

Mark them as fragile

In the event that you cannot carry your fragilities on board, then you can mark your checked-in luggage as fragile. Every airline has a fragile packaging department where your suitcase or item itself will be carefully wrapped in shock-absorbing foil and marked as fragile. This ensures its careful handling throughout your transit period. You can also purchase fragile stickers and put them on your suitcase, therefore, alerting other passengers and luggage handlers beforehand.