Auckland Airport is overflowing with mysterious lost luggage
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Travelling overseas is a voyage in more ways than one. You go on the adventure of a lifetime and take lots of wonderful memories with you, but there's something else you should come back home with – all your possessions!
Occasionally losing a suitcase or two is forgivable – airline operators are still human after all. However, this wasn’t the case at Auckland Airport, where an ‘outrageous’ amount of lost luggage was seen sitting idly by.
Airlines have been copping a lot of flak these days. Whether it’s due to unusable travel credits, unsatisfactory customer service, or the mishandling of baggage.
Debi Flutter told reporters that her daughter, Samantha, saw and filmed piles of unclaimed belongings sitting at Auckland Airport – all while travellers were still in search of their missing possessions.
‘The room was just stacked with hundreds, if not thousands of things belonging to people,’ Debi shared.
‘There were suitcases, surfboards, kite surfers…things that are vitally important to people and that cost huge amounts of money. It’s an outrageous amount,’ she added.
Debi recalled that when Samantha lost her suitcase between flights, she received word from Qantas and Emirates that it would catch up to her in Auckland. After spending three weeks trying to track down her stuff via phone, however, she decided to look for it herself at the airport.
That was when Samantha saw the piles of luggage in front of the kiosks that provide ground services for airlines.
You can check out the video here.
The airport said it was concerned about the scale of missing bags arriving, but told Samantha that there had been a shortage of staff so they weren’t able to process everything in time.
Samantha was able to find her suitcase, however, other people were still missing their belongings.
‘We understand there’s a shortage but surely it’s the responsibility of [the] airlines that charge huge amounts of money to get that personal property returned.’
Staff shortages in the aviation industry have disrupted travel and caused chaos at airports. In July, Eve Hale left more than 100 (unanswered) phone calls in the hopes of recovering her lost bag after a trip to the UK. Other stories from travellers have popped up on social media as well.
An Auckland Airport spokesperson admitted that mishandled bags were always the ‘responsibility of the airlines who sold travellers their tickets’ – and not the airport. Airlines contract companies to provide ground services, which include handling baggage.
‘It’s an issue Auckland Airport continues to be concerned about, recognising how frustrating it can be for customers to lose their bags,’ the spokesperson shared.
They also reassured everyone that they ‘are working with airlines and their ground handlers’ to come up with solutions to fix the ongoing problem.
There you have it, folks! What can you say about this? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Occasionally losing a suitcase or two is forgivable – airline operators are still human after all. However, this wasn’t the case at Auckland Airport, where an ‘outrageous’ amount of lost luggage was seen sitting idly by.
Airlines have been copping a lot of flak these days. Whether it’s due to unusable travel credits, unsatisfactory customer service, or the mishandling of baggage.
Debi Flutter told reporters that her daughter, Samantha, saw and filmed piles of unclaimed belongings sitting at Auckland Airport – all while travellers were still in search of their missing possessions.
‘The room was just stacked with hundreds, if not thousands of things belonging to people,’ Debi shared.
Samantha saw the unclaimed belongings while she was searching for her missing suitcase. Credit: Engin Akyurt/Pexels
‘There were suitcases, surfboards, kite surfers…things that are vitally important to people and that cost huge amounts of money. It’s an outrageous amount,’ she added.
Debi recalled that when Samantha lost her suitcase between flights, she received word from Qantas and Emirates that it would catch up to her in Auckland. After spending three weeks trying to track down her stuff via phone, however, she decided to look for it herself at the airport.
That was when Samantha saw the piles of luggage in front of the kiosks that provide ground services for airlines.
The sea of missing belongings. Credit: Samantha Flutter via SMH
The airport said it was concerned about the scale of missing bags arriving, but told Samantha that there had been a shortage of staff so they weren’t able to process everything in time.
Samantha was able to find her suitcase, however, other people were still missing their belongings.
‘We understand there’s a shortage but surely it’s the responsibility of [the] airlines that charge huge amounts of money to get that personal property returned.’
The airport said there was a lack of staff to process the missing luggage. Credit: Magic K/Pexels
An Auckland Airport spokesperson admitted that mishandled bags were always the ‘responsibility of the airlines who sold travellers their tickets’ – and not the airport. Airlines contract companies to provide ground services, which include handling baggage.
‘It’s an issue Auckland Airport continues to be concerned about, recognising how frustrating it can be for customers to lose their bags,’ the spokesperson shared.
They also reassured everyone that they ‘are working with airlines and their ground handlers’ to come up with solutions to fix the ongoing problem.
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