This was published 1 year ago
Lost baggage on Jetstar flight: Nurse fears bag will never be found after month-long wait
By Lorna Thornber
Georgina Aitken said she spent much of her time in Rarotonga trying to track down her bag and worrying about it.
An Invercargill woman has lost confidence she will ever recover a bag that went missing on a Jetstar flight a month ago as lost luggage continues to pose problems for passengers around the world, although there are signs the situation is improving.
Georgina Aitken, an emergency department nurse, flew with her partner from Auckland to Rarotonga on September 17 to visit her parents and, while his bag appeared on the airport carousel, hers did not.
With no Jetstar staff based at Rarotonga Airport, Aitken said she asked airport staff for help with locating her bag – to no avail.
Lost luggage continues to pose problems for passengers worldwide.Credit: AP
"The staff weren't overly helpful and just said to wait for it to come on the next plane," she said. "It never arrived on any of the planes. I called (Jetstar's) 0800 number several times during my holiday, with them stating the same thing: 'It's still under tracing'."
Aitken said she spent much of her holiday trying to track down her bag, which she estimated is worth about $3000 with its contents, and feeling "upset, worried and frustrated" that no one could help her.
She bought new clothes, underwear, togs and toiletries to tide her over while in Rarotonga, but said some items of sentimental value in her suitcase were "irreplaceable".
Since returning home, she said she had called Jetstar's contact centre, Auckland Airport and baggage handlers multiple times, and no one had been able to tell her where her bag is.
"They can't tell me anything, and state that they are still continuing tracing the bag. However, they told me it takes approximately five to 15 working days to locate a lost bag. It's now been more than 30 working days, with no success… I don't believe I'll be getting my bag back."
Given no one has been able to trace the bag, Aitken fears it may have been stolen.
"I'm frustrated, saddened and disappointed with the whole experience with Jetstar," she said. "I feel I spent a lot of time upset, worried and frustrated during my holiday and on the phone. I have been hung up on twice – I'm not sure why…
"It's been a constant runaround between organisations, with no answers, communication or guidance."
A Jetstar spokesperson said the airline sincerely apologises for the frustration and inconvenience caused, "and would like to assure Ms Aitken that our customer team is doing everything it can to locate the missing bag and will keep her informed of any updates".
The amount of luggage lost by airlines has surged this year as travellers take to the skies in far greater numbers than the short-staffed aviation sector predicted in the earlier days of the pandemic.
In July, more than six bags per 100 pieces of luggage loaded onto aircraft were at least temporarily lost by US airlines – a 97% rise on the number in April 2021. The rate of baggage mishandled across the world has also increased, rising 24% last year, with 8.7 suitcases per 1000 international passengers not arriving on time.
The situation was particularly bad in the UK, Europe, the US and Canada over the northern hemisphere summer, but New Zealand, Australia and other countries have also been affected.
An Auckland Airport spokesperson said the situation in New Zealand seemed to be improving.
"We are continuing to see some downstream impacts for travellers arriving in New Zealand from offshore, however the number of mishandled bags at Auckland Airport does appear to be decreasing.
"Auckland Airport's advice to concerned travellers is to pack any critical items (medications, high value and irreplaceable items) in their carry-on hand luggage rather than placing it in check in luggage."
Airlines, rather than airports, are responsible for taking care of passengers' bags and ensuring they reach the right destination.
When bags go missing, airlines work with ground handlers to find them and return them to passengers.
Airlines, ground handlers and airports have all been struggling to keep up with demand for flights as a result of axing staff earlier on in the pandemic.
While many have been on a recruitment drive, the tight labour market hasn't made it easy, and training up new staff takes time.
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