Florida visitors land without their luggage

A MAJOR travel company has been forced to apologise after passengers arrived in Florida to find that their luggage had been left behind.

Holidaymakers arrived at Melbourne Orlando International Airport on Monday only to learn that their luggage had not been loaded onto the plane at Newcastle.

Some passengers say they were left without pushchairs, baby formula, nappies and medication due to the error.

One passenger said that they arrived in Florida excited about their holiday when they heard a loudspeaker announcement informing passengers that the “majority” of the luggage had not been loaded onto the plane.

She claimed that the flight had been delayed at Newcastle due to luggage-loading, which added to her frustration.

Another passenger said he was still waiting for a explanation on Tuesday morning about how the error occurred. He described the situation as “absolutely shocking”, adding that he had been left with just the clothes he travelled in on his trip.

Now TUI has apologised for the error, saying it understands how frustrating this will be for the passengers affected

It said it is working with the airport and its handling agent to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

A TUI spokesperson said: “We’d like to apologise to customers whose baggage has been delayed on flight TOM858 from Newcastle to Florida. We are working with the airport and our handling agent to resolve this as quickly as possible, but we understand how frustrating this is and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”