Losing your luggage during a trip is annoying. It’s even more annoying to be completely on your own when looking for your suitcase at crowded airports.
At the moment, however, many travelers are experiencing the same thing: They arrive at the destination airport without their luggage and often find themselves in front of closed or overcrowded baggage tracing counters. The staff is understaffed and can no longer cope with the influx of travelers who have lost their luggage.
Airport chaos: global staff shortage in air traffic
The reason for the immense lack of staff: During the corona pandemic, companies in aviation cut staff massively. As a result, according to the Institute of German Economics, there is a shortage of more than 7,000 skilled workers at German airports, such as the “daily News” reported.
But not only in Germany is there a lack of staff, but worldwide. As a result, more and more luggage is not transported together with the guests. Normally, in such cases, the luggage is either sent to the holiday destination or home. However, since baggage tracing at German airports is also understaffed, those affected sometimes have to pick them up at the airport themselves. There the luggage will be guarded by a security service provider and will only be shown upon presentation of the luggage tag.
But how should those affected best proceed in order to get their luggage back as quickly as possible? An overview.
1st step: fill out the form
Travelers who have lost their luggage should immediately contact the baggage tracing desk and an appropriate one Fill out the form (Property Irregularity Report).. In addition the flight delay must be reported to the airline in writing, preferably by fax or registered mail.
If the counter is closed, you can try again the following day, emphasizes Julia Rehberg from the Hamburg consumer center in an interview with the “NDR“. Guests can also fill out a corresponding form online with the respective airline. It is advisable to complete this step as quickly as possible. If you have flown with several airlines, each airline should be written to to be on the safe side.
2nd step: Get in touch with your contact person
As a rule, the airlines themselves are the contact persons for lost luggage. This is because the airports themselves do not have access to passenger and baggage data. As Katja Bromm, spokeswoman for Hamburg Airport, reports to NDR, passengers conclude the contract of carriage with the respective airline.
If you don’t want to deal with the airlines personally, you can also seek help. Companies like “Flightright” and “FairPlane” take care of contacting the airline. The companies keep part of the money won for the service.
3rd step: Inform regularly about the status of the luggage
Also
point out on their website that travelers should contact the respective airline if they lose their luggage. Those affected can find links to the various airlines here, can view the status of their baggage and contact the airlines directly. In addition, the airports provide a counter for lost baggage in all baggage halls.
Hamburg Airport: Look for your luggage yourself
At Hamburg Airport, passengers can currently search for their luggage themselves. Depending on the airline, those affected can access the security area via two entrances in different terminals. The positions should be filled from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Travelers can ring the bell here so that an employee will open the thick steel door for them. However, those affected must expect longer waiting times before they are admitted to the security area. They also need to show ID and the baggage tag.
the website at Hamburg Airport also provides up-to-date information on luggage collection.
4. Meet deadlines
As the consumer advice center states, certain deadlines must be observed when reporting delayed luggage in order to be able to claim compensation in the event that the suitcase is lost:
- maximum 7 days: upon receipt of the case to report any damage
- maximum 21 days: to indicate the delay
5. If the suitcase no longer appears: Claim compensation
If your suitcase has been lost, you can claim compensation via the Arbitration board for public transport raise. This can be between 1400 and 1600 euros at most.
Travelers should prepare themselves before they travel that their suitcase could get lost. Accordingly, purchase receipts for new items should be kept and important items or basic equipment should be taken in hand luggage, says Rehberg. To prove the lost items, it also helps to take pictures of the contents of the suitcase before the trip.
Airlines only reimburse the original price for items that can be proven to be new, consumer advocates emphasize. As a rule, the time value is calculated individually. Often airlines would only pay flat daily rates meant to cover all costs, reports “n-tv“.