MIAMI -- Airline luggage is checked, loaded and delivered. Most luggage gets there OK -- but nearly 2,500 times in the last five years, valuables were reported stolen from baggage traveling through South Florida airports.

"Oh my goodness, I was outraged at the time. … I felt really violated," said South Florida resident Lisa Manley. "I locked my suitcase."

Manley had a wonderful vacation -- until she got off her flight from Miami to Atlanta. Expensive items were stolen from her bag.

"They were right on top. It was right there if you open the suitcase up," Manley said.

Manley lost jewelry worth $5,500, a Roberto Cavalli purse worth $3,500, a Coach bag worth $750. The police report filed with the Miami-Dade County Police Department indicated $4,500 worth of clothes was pilfered. Items worth a total of $14,000 were stolen from Manley's suitcase, NBC 6's Willard Shepard reported.

"If they are supposed to be so secure, they should have cameras up showing what's coming out of someone's bags," Manley said.

Manley isn't alone. NBC 6 analyzed data the Transportation Security Administration compiled going back to 2003 on luggage theft. At Miami International Airport, there have been over 1,500 items reported stolen -- everything from laptops to cash to baby strollers. At Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, there were 960 thefts, sometimes entire bags stolen.

American Airlines -- the largest carrier at MIA -- had the most reported claims with 952. They had no comment. At Ft. Lauderdale, Delta had the most with 217.

In South Florida, nine TSA employees have been fired or disciplined for taking items from bags.

The TSA says it "holds its security officers to the highest … standards and has a zero-tolerance policy for theft." It points out that way less than 1 percent of all bags nationwide are targeted.

But if you're a victim it hurts. Frequent flyer Kendra Phelps had a necklace, perfume and ring -- more than $7,000 in items -- disappear on a flight through Chicago.

"It's very frustrating," she said. "I feel violated, as if someone broke into my home."

TSA said to use one of their approved locks and never pack high-end items.

Find a TSA-approved luggage lock:

The Transportation Security Administration's Web site
Safe Skies Patented Luggage Locks