Sarah Formel’s family vacation last week in Scotland for a friend’s wedding was to be one of those lifelong journeys. But instead, she said, it became a “journey from hell.”
This is because the family’s luggage – including the wedding dress and car seat for Formel’s nine-month-old baby – failed to reach their Air Canada flight on June 18 from Toronto to Edinburgh.
The family spent much of their week-long vacation shopping and trying to get answers from Air Canada.
“It was awful,” said Formel, who lives in Conway, Ark. “We were deprived of everything we had, and I don’t know when we will return it.”
Due to growing demand and staff shortages, some major Canadian airports have recently been plagued by long queues, delays and cancellations.
On top of that, passengers complain about another big problem: missing luggage, which sometimes fails to arrive during their journey.
Sarah Formel, her husband Joe and a nine-month-old child had to struggle to buy what they needed in Scotland after their luggage did not arrive. (Submitted by Sarah Formel)
“It’s disappointing,” said WestJet passenger Johnny Hartle of Calgary. She was packed again on Saturday, a week after her nine-day trip to Costa Rica.
Hartle’s suitcase disappeared after she boarded the second leg of her Toronto flight. Its contents included $ 400 hiking boots and a $ 750 bundle of money hidden in a sock.
While landing in Toronto on his way home, Hartle asked at WestJet’s luggage counter.
There were “tons of bags standing there” at the baggage claim in Calgary, she said. “They don’t have enough resources to deal with these problems.”
When Air Canada passenger Harrison Burton landed in Montreal on his way to Moncton on Friday, he was so stunned by the piles of unclaimed luggage that he posted a video on Facebook.
“It’s chaos,” he said in the video. “It’s crazy. They need to fix this.”
After landing in Montreal, Harrison Burton posted this photo showing piles of unsolicited luggage at the airport. (Submitted by Harrison Burton)
Burton could not find his luggage in Montreal and hoped to show up when he landed in Moncton, where he lives. However, he is still waiting for him.
“It [feels] like the face of capitalism that actually says, “You know what, we don’t really care about people. We just want your money and you will get your luggage when you pick up your luggage, “he said in an interview.
What is being done?
The federal government has hired more border and airport security officials to help ease airport bottlenecks, although Transport Minister Omar Algabra has blamed some airlines, saying last week that they too must “finish their work.” role “.
Air Canada says most passengers arrive at their destination with their luggage, but acknowledges that the number of those who do not has increased recently.
The airline says many of the reasons for baggage delays – such as airport backlogs – are beyond its control.
“When an aircraft is detained at an exit due to a customs delay at the terminal, it may not be loaded in time for its next flight,” spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said in an email.
“Make sure that avoiding baggage delays is a top priority for us.”
The luggage area at Toronto Pearson Airport is just crazy… 😳😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/m5O43RwWz8
– @KrisReports
WestJet blamed the missing luggage for a myriad of challenges, including resource constraints, flight delays and cancellations.
The airline is “actively working to resolve baggage delays,” spokeswoman Madison Krueger said in an email.
Ian Lee, an associate professor of business at Carleton University, said all countries involved – airlines, airports and the government – were to blame for the current chaos because they failed to properly prepare for the expected jump in travel after the pandemic.
“It just seems to me that it was a lot – without a pun – of flying through the seat of their pants instead of a more, say, strategic approach to reopening the air travel sector,” he said.
WATCH | Travelers complain about lost luggage:
Luggage delays add to travel problems in Canada
Luggage delays add to the problems faced by Canadian air passengers, with some airports seeing piles of bags piled up and some passengers not receiving their luggage during the entire journey.
Algabra said Monday that bottlenecks at major airports have improved and that Ottawa is working with airports and airlines to deal with baggage delays and other ongoing problems.
“We treat this with the greatest sense of urgency,” he told a news conference.
Meanwhile, Formel and Burton are still waiting for their luggage.
Their only consolation: under Canadian air passenger protection rulespassengers with lost, damaged or delayed luggage can claim costs up to approximately $ 2,300.
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