An ENTIRE flight's worth of luggage was left behind in the UK, leaving passengers travelling from Manchester to Spain stranded without their things.
Due to "the absence of handling agents from our handling supplier," the Iberia Express aircraft to Madrid from Manchester Airport on Sunday (September 11) took off without any luggage, according to the airline. But according to passengers the Manchester Evening News spoke to, their possessions are still missing three days after their plane touched down in the capital of Spain.
Iberia Express has since stated that the luggage would be on Wednesday's flight, but the M.E.N. believes that vacationers are still unsure of the precise time they will be reunited with their belongings. To make matters worse, a few have been transferred from operator to operator in a never-ending round of customer support phone calls.
One traveller, who identified himself only as Geoff, added, "It's incredible." It's out there. At some point, someone must say, "Leave it with me," at which point they must call someone and ask, "Dave, you know those 200 pieces of baggage, what should we do with them?
In order to get his "expensive bit of gear," according to Geoff, he packed an iMac computer for a work trip to Madrid. He claims that's in part due to the fact that when he arrived in Spain, the staff members distributing lost baggage forms failed to provide him with a Property Irregularity Report (PIR), which is crucial document airlines require to track their lost goods.
I rang the airline on Monday the following day, and they requested a PIR, he said. I was exhausted when I handed in my paperwork at the airport and felt like I should receive something in return. They both denied any knowledge of it when I called them.
"I rang the London number after that, but they also requested a PIR, and I did not have one. I then called Menzies again, and he said it had to do with us but that we service all the airlines, so I had to return to Iberia.
How challenging can it be? There is a lot of luggage piled up! I was unable to comprehend it. I eventually received a PIR number, and when I entered it into the web tracker, it continued stating that the search was ongoing. Then they claimed it would get here, and that was yesterday afternoon. I have not received an email to that effect.
Javi Roca and Ellen are additional pairs that are without their belongings. In order to see Javi's parents for his 42nd birthday this week, the couple travelled by plane from Brighouse, Yorkshire.
Even though they are eagerly anticipating their week-long vacation, nurse Ellen has opened up about the extent she has gone to in order to obtain information from the airline. No luggage had been included in the plan, she said. At the carousel, we waited for thirty minutes before learning that we would be there for an eternity.
The service desk is our next stop. In addition to newborns, there were many elderly individuals and adults using wheelchairs. Chaos prevailed.
The following morning, they said they had no knowledge, continued Ellen, 35. They are still clueless. There is no data available in the worldwide luggage tracking system. The baggage for the entire flight wasn't packed.
"Javi was the only one that phoned them, and they told us we could purchase back necessities. The only clothing we have is what we wore on the aeroplane. It was all in the grasp.
"They always tell us they don't have any information when we contact them. They keep stating they are seeking for information but have not provided any. They only state that it hasn't been scanned into the database. There hasn't been a single contact from a luggage handler.
A spokesperson for Iberia Express stated they had made arrangements for the bags to be placed on their next aircraft from Manchester to Madrid after the Manchester Evening News contacted them on the situation. It leaves tonight (September 14).
The absence of handling agents from our handling supplier in Manchester prevented the checked luggage from being put into the aircraft on the 11th of September for flight IB3693 from MAN to MAD, according to a statement.
"We notified every passenger of the absence of checked baggage upon arrival in Madrid, and, as you mentioned, it was stated to them that any necessary expenditures paid may be claimed back and refunded by the firm after they have been evaluated.
Additionally, I'd like to draw attention to the fact that travellers should complete a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) form to acquire a claim number that may be used to trace the progress of the luggage search.
Tonight is the first MAN-MAD flight we've run since Sunday (I23693 MAN-MAD 14SEP 21:15-0:45H), and on this trip, all of the luggage will be checked in and given to the customers as soon as possible. Any inconvenience this may have brought about is extremely unfortunate.
