Tourist stunned by Aussie airport act
In a video posted to TikTok, Josiah Hein speaks to the camera while waiting at the baggage carousel with a look of disbelief on his face.
He turns the camera on to his face and explains that despite not having even left airport yet, he has taken the pulse on Australian culture.
“Australians don’t care as much … this is a different vibe here,” he said in the video which has now racked up 43,000 views.
Standing in the baggage carousel hall, he points to the window through which the luggage first enters the carousel.
“That’s the exit, if this was the States, this [area] would have everyone on the flight,” he said.
Mr Hein claims that in America, the passengers will crowd around the point where the bags first enter the carousel, and scramble to grab their bag.
He was shocked to find that in Australia, people spread out over the length of the carousel, with the majority of people moving to the far end so that they can spot their bag and have plenty of time to prepare to take it off the conveyor belt.
“In Australia most people are here on the other side of the luggage carousel,” he said.
He then pans the camera to show a crowd of people waiting at the opposite end of the carousel, spread out evenly to make it easier for others to get their bag.
“They are a little bit less up tight up in here dude, that’s my first impression,” he said.
Australians flooded to the comments to react, with many explaining the practice is rooted in patience and respecting other peoples space.
“It is our ’stand back’ rule until you see your bag, so you don’t get in others way,” one person wrote.
“It’s actually polite to stand back so that everyone can actually see what bags are on the belt,” another said.
“It’s not a lack of care. It’s an abundance of care. We care about being courteous and giving space” a third wrote.
Mr Hein was shocked by the attitude, saying that in the States, they had to install barriers at the exit point to hold people back.
One woman who had recently arrived in Paris, shared that the culture of crowding at the carousel was not exclusive to America.
“An Australian here who just arrived in Paris and everyone be on that belt we had to climb a human wall to get to out luggage,” she said.
