As unclaimed luggage continues to pile up at Pearson International Airport, a local resident has been looking for his bags for 16 days after arriving in Toronto.
The man who identified himself as Dean told CP24 on Saturday afternoon that he flew from Calgary on a direct flight, landing around 12:30 a.m. on June 17. He said he was asked at the last minute to go through his bag.
For three hours he waited for his bags, but they did not appear. She then waited in the customer service line for an hour, only to get no answer about her bags.
More than two weeks later, they are nowhere to be found.
“I’ve been back to the airport three times. And it’s been 16 days and there’s no sign of my bag. I’ve looked at these 2,000 bags here over and over again to find my bag. It’s nothing,” Dean said. .
He added that he repeatedly called customer service and even filed a claim, but there are still no updates on where his bags are.
“My only option was to physically come here and talk to customer service. They’ve helped me as much as they can, but… my bag is in limbo,” Dean said.
He is just one of several thousand travelers who have desperately searched for their bags at Canada’s largest airport. Thousands of bags sit idle in the baggage claim area at Pearson Airport, waiting for their owners to pick them up. On social media, travelers continue to express their anger as they ask airlines to find their bags.
According to the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, which operates Toronto Pearson, baggage responsibility is shared between different groups. Airlines and their contracted ground handling company are responsible for baggage handling, including the removal of baggage from the aircraft, introduction to the baggage system, and the speed at which bags are loaded onto the carousel.
“Several issues in recent days have led to baggage challenges. These include flight delays and cancellations, staffing shortages with our partner airlines, and temporary mechanical outages in the baggage system,” GTAA said in a statement.
According to FlightAware data provided to CTV News Toronto, 7.7% of scheduled flights in Canada were canceled last month, compared to 1.6% in 2019 before the pandemic. It also found that of the scheduled flights in June, 49.5 percent were delayed.
“We have worked with airlines to ensure that unclaimed bags are removed from conveyor belts and placed in the baggage hall to make room for bags from other flights.”
Flights are delayed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on July 2, 2022. (Corey Baird/CTV News Toronto)
Dean said he hopes to get his bags back soon as he will be traveling again next week.
“I don’t have my bag. I don’t have my things. It’s been very frustrating,” she said.
Dean added that airlines need to communicate better with their customers.
“Whether it’s a shortage in the supply chain or a shortage of staff or mechanics, whatever it is, there has to be more communication for the airlines because this is ridiculous,” he said.
“I’m just sorry because everyone is waiting for their bags. This is a vacation that has been ruined. People have been waiting hours and hours for the bag and just extreme frustration. If you look around, this is just a terminal. Maybe Maybe Terminal 3 has more bags, who knows?”