The
On top of having the reunion reduced by a day after
"All his clothing and all his worldly possessions were in a duffel bag, which the airline lost. We picked him up, brought him home and then the next day I had to take him shopping because he literally had nothing to wear but the clothing on his back."
Passengers preparing to run the gauntlet of Canadian air travel face a key obstacle on top of flight delays and cancellations: late luggage. In recent weeks, airlines have filled the country's biggest airport terminals with row upon row of belated bags, causing headaches for thousands of customers.
For travellers flying with
Some 52 per cent of all flights out of
Flight delays mark a particularly sticky problem for luggage flow, with a shortage of baggage handlers to shuttle suitcases from late arrivals to connecting planes while also grappling with last-minute gate changes.
"There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work ... that requires some additional handling, particularly if you're connecting from a domestic flight or a
"Every bag gets X-rayed or examined ... There are chemical sniffers and explosive sniffers — detectors," he said, but nonetheless called the tarmac and baggage bottlenecks "a non-stop soap opera — it's nuts."
Airlines contract out suitcase delivery to courier companies who deliver luggage to passengers, costing Canadian carriers "millions" amid a rise in fuel surcharges by shippers, Gradek added.
Travellers are owed up to
“They may typically tell you that we are going to reimburse you only
“It’s really an onslaught. It’s insane what’s happening ... these immense piles of luggage."
Lukacs recommends passengers buy any clothes and items they need as a result of the tardy portmanteau, keep the receipts and file a claim with the airline soon after, rather than waiting to get through to it to confirm purchases will be reimbursed. If the claims are rejected, small claims court is the next step, he said.
Airlines and government agencies have been scrambling to deal with an overwhelming travel resurgence in recent months.
Despite the increased staffing, Schwartz said she was unable to get through to
"If you want your bag today, you'd better come get it, because if you want us to deliver it to the house it'll probably take three, four more days," Schwartz said, recalling the phone conversation.
"There were literally hundreds and hundreds of pieces of luggage and infants' car seats and all kinds of things piled up without any supervision or security. So anyone could walk in and steal bags.
"It's very upsetting for people," she added. "It really screws people around."
WestJet said bags that go unclaimed are delivered to headquarters in
"Recognizing the current travel ecosystem, we are making every effort to connect our impacted guests with their missing bags and have not seen an uptick related to reports of baggage theft," she said in an email.
The travel turbulence prompted the
The regulator suggests passengers file a claim to the airline within seven days of receiving damaged baggage, 21 days of receiving delayed bags or "as soon as possible" if it remains lost after three weeks. Travellers should then file a complaint to the carrier "if you believe that the airline did not follow its obligations."
"If you are not satisfied with the airline's response to your complaint or request for compensation, or have not received a response within 30 days, you can make a complaint with the CTA."
This report by
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