Template:Infobox vehicles
The Baggage Handler is a small airport tug featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, used to transport luggage to and from aircraft. The vehicle is simply known in GTA San Andreas as the Baggage.
Description
Design
The Baggage Handler is designed as an open air, electrically power vehicle predominantly used to pull loads in airports. Due to its function, the vehicle barely offers any luxuries; the vehicle does features a small cargo compartment in the rear, which may occasionally contain cases, toolboxes or earmuffs. In all of its appearances, the vehicle comes in white, with the exception of in GTA San Andreas, where is it only a light gray; the GTA Vice City Stories rendition additionally includes Baggage Handlers in light gray or dark gray alongside white ones. The GTA Chinatown Wars rendition receives a longer frontal engine compartment in order to scale the vehicle better to gameplay. Regardless, when driven, the driver appears oversized due to a minuscule driver compartment. In the PSP version, the Baggage Handler is surgical green, whereas in the DS version, it is white.
In GTA San Andreas, it is possible to use the Baggage Handler to tow luggage carts and a staircase found in airports. The game considers these attachments as vehicles so they can be damaged, catch on fire, and explode. Security guards in GTA Vice City can also be seen driving Baggage Handlers as their "gang car".
 A Baggage Handler in GTA Vice City (Rear quarter view).  A "Baggage" in GTA San Andreas (Rear quarter view).  A dark gray Baggage Handler in GTA Vice City Stories (Rear quarter view, light gray color). A Baggage Handler in GTA Chinatown Wars. |
Performance
The Baggage Handler's slow speed, weak construction, and poor handling make driving one of these on a heavily traveled, high-speed thoroughfare extremely treacherous. Furthermore, the Baggage Handler is highly susceptible to damage from weapons, to the point where close range shotgun blasts can physically move the vehicle. The version in GTA San Andreas, however, has considerably better speed and handling and, while still not recommended for freeway travel, is a quick and efficient mode of transport from getting from the airport to a safehouse or other location via surface streets.
The Baggage Handler's engine varies from game to game and is either an electric motor or a small petrol engine, possibly a 4-cylinder. All powerplants are coupled to a CVT except Chinatown Wars where it has a diesel engine and multiple gears.
While nothing much has changed in the GTA Chinatown Wars rendition of the Baggage Handler, speed and handling have been tweaked slightly although it is still slow.
Trivia
- The Baggage Handler plays K-JAH West by default when entered in GTA San Andreas.
- The Baggage Handler, just like the Airtug in GTA IV has shared the same design since GTA Vice City, see herefor proof.
- In Chinatown Wars, there is a glitch where if the player melees, tasers or chainsaws a driver while he's still on the vehicle, he will die but stay in an awkward position. If the player tries entering the vehicle the driver will either fall off or drive away, suggesting that the player, when attempting to enter, knocked his foot onto the gas pedal although the player isn't supposed to be able to do that. Tested on the iOS version, PSP version, and DS version. This will not work on the iOS Lite.
- In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the Baggage trucks sometimes spawn outside the hospital next to Las Venturas Airport. This is weird, because a Baggage truck has no real reason for being in the parking lot of a hospital.