We’ve all been there: you can’t wait to get your holiday started, but your suitcase is taking its sweet time arriving on the conveyer belt.
Well, one woman found herself in a more frustrating position than most when she spotted her missing suitcase on a TV report – 1,300 miles away.
Laura Simpson, 35, and her family were left in a nightmare holiday situation when they spent six days in Menorca without their clothes and essentials.
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This was all down to TUI Airways losing seven of their suitcases en route, which also contained important medication and toiletries.
The Warrington mother said that she called the airline from Menorca in a bid to locate her luggage, but despite spending hours on the phone, it was to no avail.
She then visited Manchester Evening News’ website to learn more about TUI’s ongoing travel issues.
There, Simpson watched a video of the chaos at Manchester Airport – and spotted all seven of her family’s missing suitcases 43 seconds in.
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Simpson subsequently took to Facebook, writing: “When Manchester Evening News do a better job at finding your luggage than TUI... 43 seconds into the clip and there are all of our seven suitcases. Day five into the holiday with nothing and no communication."
She explained that her holiday began to go awry when her family were told that instead of flying direct, they had to fly to Menorca via Ibiza due to ‘technical issues’.
The mother said she has not yet had any contact from TUI, but she was told to collect her luggage from Menorca airport, where it still hasn’t arrived.
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"We checked in seven suitcases. One of them had the majority of asthma and eczema medication for one of the boys. They packed the bare minimum in their hand luggage, but the majority is in one of the missing cases," she said.
"The flight took off about an hour-and-a-half late. When we got to Ibiza everyone got off and the 25 of us going to Menorca remained onboard. Passengers started getting on who were going back to Manchester, who were then told we’d be diverting via Menorca.
"It was all over the place. By this point we’d already waited for two hours on a hot plane. We finally got to Menorca and waited an hour for our luggage and then someone came out and said it hadn't arrived at the airport."
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[Awaiting our comment but this is one from the agency I can pop in if needed]
A spokesperson from TUI said: "We’re aware that some customers have been impacted by baggage delays at Manchester Airport and we’d like to thank customers for their patience and understanding at this exceptionally busy time.
"We’re working closely with airport staff, baggage handlers and our teams in resort to ensure customers receive their luggage as soon as possible. We’ll be in direct contact with customers once we have more information to share."
Topics: Travel
Emma Guinness