POPULAR airlines have been accused of losing baggage for many months.
Qantas is an Australian-based airline that has been criticised for taking too long to retrieve bags from customers.
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A woman has revealed how she has been left AUD$1,300 (£778) out of pocket after her suitcase went missing.
When Emma Bradley landed in Perth, she was informed by staff that her bag had been left behind in Singapore while she was on her way to the UK.
It took three months for it to be returned to her, during which time she was only offered AUD$120 (£71.87) in compensation.
Talk to The GuardianShe said, “It just never happened.” My month at Home consisted of me calling Qantas every single week and them telling us. ‘you’ve called the wrong department’, me being like ‘this is the number they told me to call’.”
Bradley also went to Perth airport multiple times to meet with Qantas staff.
Two months later, she returned to the UK and was contacted again by the airline. They informed her that the bag had been located and would be delivered directly to her Perth address.
Bradley recalls: “It was like…” ‘no, I’m in Cardiff’. It got to me in 24 hours.”
Of the money she was forced to spend, and which she is trying to claim compensation on, she added: “It’s just frustrating, I could use that money – gas and electricity is so expensive.”
According to The Guardian, Qantas had outsourced approximately 1,700 jobs as ground staff when the pandemic broke out.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “The rate of mishandled bags on Qantas is now five in 1,000 passengers for domestic and six in 1,000 passengers for our international services.
“Before Covid it was five in 1,000 passengers.”
They suggested that another airline was involved on some legs of customers’ journeys.
The spokesperson continued: “In one case, the luggage was lost with another airline before they connected on to a Qantas flight. In the other, the luggage was delayed due to a mistake in the ticketing system.
“We returned the luggage to Ms Bradley last month, and are continuing to work on the return of [the New Zealand woman’s] luggage.
“We will be contacting both customers to apologise for the inconvenience and discuss their claims.”
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