Last present from my late father was in luggage lost 47 days ago in Dublin Airport
AN IRATE Aer Lingus customer has been fighting for 47 days to try to locate ‘irreplaceable’ lost luggage which includes the last gift she received from her late father.
Monika Nagy, 30, is just one of thousands of frustrated passengers who have endured a nightmare trying to reclaim luggage lost by the airline, which has been beset by controversy this summer.
Many of these people are among more than 5,000 who have joined a new Aer Lingus Complaints Action Group on Facebook to highlight the airline’s inaction.
In almost all cases, the customers’ frustration has been exacerbated by the airline’s failure to communicate with them. And many people said this weekend trying to get their belongings back has become a ‘full-time job’.
Ms Nagy, 30, from Hungary, flew
Aer Lingus from Budapest to Dublin for a three-day business trip on June 21.
But her bag, which contained two precious cardigans – presents her late father gave her before he died last year – as well as her ‘best clothes’ and other personal items, never arrived.
Ms Nagy told the MoS she has spent weeks ‘constantly trying’ to reclaim her lost luggage. Using a tracking device, she discovered that her bag is lying in a Dublin warehouse. But she said she cannot even get through to someone in Aer Lingus to find out how the airline can return it to her.
She started an online petition – ‘Aer Lingus, please give our bags back to us!’ – which has had almost 250 signatures.
She said on Friday: ‘That bag is irreplaceable. I have in that bag my very last gifts which were received from my beloved Dad who died last year. We lost him to Covid.
‘I have my whole life in that bag. As I was heading to a business trip I packed my best clothes and shoes.
‘I am really tired of begging for my property. I think 45 days must be enough time to reunite a passenger with their bag, even in the current circumstances. I am still frustrated.
‘I tried to get my things back when I was heading home but no one would help me at Dublin Airport. I was hoping that some days later I would get my bag back but nothing has happened since then.
‘I have been constantly trying to reach Aer Lingus staff via all the possible channels. I’ve emailed the Aer Lingus baggage service agents, the CEO two or three times a day. I call them five to 10 times a day and I post on Twitter two to five times a day.’
But she said: ‘The only thing I got were a few calls asking for my patience. When I commented on the posts of Marc Giles, who is the Head of Customer Experience, he blocked me. What a joke!’
Following queries to affected Aer Lingus passengers, the MoS received a large volume of emails from people who wanted to share their experiences. Many have lost deeply sentimental items due to misplaced baggage.
One woman, Samantha Morris, flew from Manchester to Dublin with Aer Lingus on July 19. Her baggage never arrived and is still missing.
Ms Morris, 49, said: ‘I had gifts in that bag for a friend in the USA who is terminally ill with cancer that I wanted to give face to face. It is likely I won’t see him alive again now as he only has six to 12 months to live.
‘Aer Lingus’s lack of response to my tweets, direct messages and emails has been shocking.’
She said she will never fly Aer Lingus again, adding: ‘It has been a nightmare and so upsetting.’
Tenille Groenewald, who took an Aer Lingus flight from Amsterdam to Dublin with her husband on May 18, said the airline has been unable to trace her lost luggage.
‘I have a very sentimental giant Papa Smurf toy that my sister gave me many years ago from Vietnam. My husband also had very special handmade leather hiking boots in my bag, which will be difficult if not impossible to replace.’
Last week Aer Lingus said it has 1,200 ‘open files’ relating to missing bags. However, the airline did not provide an updated figure when contacted by the MoS this weekend.
Asked why so many bags have gone missing in its care, a spokesman blamed international events.
‘Regrettably, our airline is being impacted by widespread disruption and resource challenges across the sector, particularly in the UK and Europe,’ the spokesman said.
‘While these issues are outside of our control, our teams are working hard to overcome the challenges and improve the customer experience.’
‘I am tired of begging for my property’