Outrage After Qantas Leaves Over 60 Bags Behind
- Replies 4
When flying with a budget airline or even a luxury one, expect to encounter some sort of mishap in some form or another. Whether it’s a case of a missing passport or a cancelled flight, lately it seems something is bound to go wrong or cause a bit of delay to your holiday.
And unfortunately for one passenger aboard a Qantas flight, one of the worst situations came to fruition: a missing bag.
Airline passengers were outraged after the discovery that Qantas had left behind the luggage of over 60 passengers onboard a flight from Sydney to New Zealand.
One of the passengers slammed the airline online and said Qantas neglected to inform them that the bags had been left behind. It was only when they arrived at Wellington airport, expecting to collect their luggage, that they realised what had happened.
Posting to the social media forum Reddit, the passenger recalled their experience.
‘QF163 from Sydney to Wellington on Tuesday night. Qantas managed to get us to Wellington 1.5 hours late...and left over 60 bags behind in Sydney due to “weight” reasons,’ they wrote in their post.
‘It was a full flight, absolutely packed.’
They added that Qantas failed to alert the passengers of the incident until they were all waiting at ‘the now empty carousel’ in Wellington airport.
‘Queue us with a grumpy 15-month-old who’s worn out from the extra long trip and no bags or travel cot at 2 am. I asked them “How am I going to organise a travel cot at 2 am? Where do I get clean clothes from? Formula?” No answers and not even a “sorry”,’ the traveller explained.
The traveller stated that other people were claiming Wellington airport charges late fees by the minute and alleged that Qantas left their bags behind to save a few dollars and ‘make up for their lateness’.
In an update to their post, the disgruntled passenger said the ground crew was supposed to give travellers a ‘file number’ at the airport to track their bags but claimed to have never received this ‘file number’.
They added that they spent 30 minutes on the phone trying to track down their bags, but had no luck in finding their things. Instead, they bought toiletries, a change of clothes, and stuff for their baby and kept all the receipts, in case they wanted to file for reimbursements.
A spokesman from Qantas said: ‘Due to poor weather conditions in New Zealand, we had to reduce weight on our flight from Sydney to Wellington.’
They stated that this meant they had to offload some of the passengers’ bags, but reassured everyone that they will be delivered to passengers soon. However, in another update from the Reddit post on February 1, the traveller said they have yet to receive their bags ‘despite talking to them 3 times on the phone’.
‘They promised me each time that they’ll call me and never did.’
Under the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959, travellers are entitled to compensation for the loss of checked luggage on an Australian domestic flight. The maximum compensation is $3,000 for checked baggage and $300 for unchecked baggage.
For international travel, the airline’s liability is covered by one of two international treaties: the Montreal Convention or the Warsaw Convention. Both have different amounts of compensation, so you’ll need to review your airline’s website for more guidance.
If the Montreal Convention applies, airlines are liable for up to 1,131 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per passenger, equivalent to approximately AU $1,735. This applies to both checked and carry-on luggage. SDRs are a form of international money created by the International Monetary Fund.
Under the Warsaw Convention for international travel, airlines are liable for up to 250 francs (19 SDRs), equivalent to approximately AU $36.10, per kilogram for checked luggage. And 5,000 francs (about 332 SDRs) or approximately AU $630.95, for carry-on baggage.
You can also purchase additional luggage and travel insurance through companies such as Flight Centre when booking your holiday.
Has a flight mishap ever caused you to be left without your checked luggage? What did you do? Share your experiences with us in the comments below.
And unfortunately for one passenger aboard a Qantas flight, one of the worst situations came to fruition: a missing bag.
Airline passengers were outraged after the discovery that Qantas had left behind the luggage of over 60 passengers onboard a flight from Sydney to New Zealand.
One of the passengers slammed the airline online and said Qantas neglected to inform them that the bags had been left behind. It was only when they arrived at Wellington airport, expecting to collect their luggage, that they realised what had happened.
Qantas reportedly left behind the bags of over 60 passengers aboard their flight. Credit: Markus Spiske/Pexels
Posting to the social media forum Reddit, the passenger recalled their experience.
‘QF163 from Sydney to Wellington on Tuesday night. Qantas managed to get us to Wellington 1.5 hours late...and left over 60 bags behind in Sydney due to “weight” reasons,’ they wrote in their post.
‘It was a full flight, absolutely packed.’
They added that Qantas failed to alert the passengers of the incident until they were all waiting at ‘the now empty carousel’ in Wellington airport.
‘Queue us with a grumpy 15-month-old who’s worn out from the extra long trip and no bags or travel cot at 2 am. I asked them “How am I going to organise a travel cot at 2 am? Where do I get clean clothes from? Formula?” No answers and not even a “sorry”,’ the traveller explained.
One passenger slammed the airline after it failed to give them notice of the incident. Credit: Qantas
The traveller stated that other people were claiming Wellington airport charges late fees by the minute and alleged that Qantas left their bags behind to save a few dollars and ‘make up for their lateness’.
In an update to their post, the disgruntled passenger said the ground crew was supposed to give travellers a ‘file number’ at the airport to track their bags but claimed to have never received this ‘file number’.
They added that they spent 30 minutes on the phone trying to track down their bags, but had no luck in finding their things. Instead, they bought toiletries, a change of clothes, and stuff for their baby and kept all the receipts, in case they wanted to file for reimbursements.
A spokesman from Qantas said: ‘Due to poor weather conditions in New Zealand, we had to reduce weight on our flight from Sydney to Wellington.’
They stated that this meant they had to offload some of the passengers’ bags, but reassured everyone that they will be delivered to passengers soon. However, in another update from the Reddit post on February 1, the traveller said they have yet to receive their bags ‘despite talking to them 3 times on the phone’.
‘They promised me each time that they’ll call me and never did.’
Under the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959, travellers are entitled to compensation for the loss of checked luggage on an Australian domestic flight. The maximum compensation is $3,000 for checked baggage and $300 for unchecked baggage.
For international travel, the airline’s liability is covered by one of two international treaties: the Montreal Convention or the Warsaw Convention. Both have different amounts of compensation, so you’ll need to review your airline’s website for more guidance.
If the Montreal Convention applies, airlines are liable for up to 1,131 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per passenger, equivalent to approximately AU $1,735. This applies to both checked and carry-on luggage. SDRs are a form of international money created by the International Monetary Fund.
Under the Warsaw Convention for international travel, airlines are liable for up to 250 francs (19 SDRs), equivalent to approximately AU $36.10, per kilogram for checked luggage. And 5,000 francs (about 332 SDRs) or approximately AU $630.95, for carry-on baggage.
You can also purchase additional luggage and travel insurance through companies such as Flight Centre when booking your holiday.
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