A family holiday turned into a "nightmare" after their luggage, including vital medication, was left behind at Birmingham Airport due to a baggage belt failure. Jamie Johnson, her two children, and her 70-year-old mother landed in Gran Canaria on Friday (August 7) only to discover their four bags were not on the flight.
Luggage left behind
The Johnson family, from Staffordshire, were told their bags would be manually loaded onto their EasyJet flight by airport staff. However, upon arrival at Las Palmas, they found dozens of suitcases had not made the journey. EasyJet instructed them to register their delayed bags individually on their portal and with Menzies, the baggage handling partner.
After completing the registration, the family missed their bus and faced another hour-long wait for transport. Jamie, 48, said she spent up to 30 minutes on hold trying to reach EasyJet, making multiple calls.
Costly replacements
With no clothes or toiletries, Jamie had to dash to a local supermarket for basic items like toothpaste. On Saturday, she spent €400 on clothes, toiletries, and medication, including vital thyroid medication for her mother.
She criticised the poor communication from Birmingham Airport, saying she would not have boarded the flight if she had known her belongings would be left behind. "We are away for 10 nights, although today is night two, so I feel I’m slowly losing my holiday to this nightmare," she said. "I am absolutely furious, but also baffled how this can go so wrong."
Apologies and updates
An EasyJet spokesperson apologised, saying: "We’re really sorry that the Johnson family have been without their luggage during the first few days of their holiday. Due to a baggage belt failure at Birmingham Airport, their luggage was not loaded onto their flight on August 7. We have been working closely with Birmingham Airport’s baggage handling partner to reunite them with their luggage as quickly as possible."
Birmingham Airport (BHX) also issued an update on Sunday (August 9), stating: "Whilst issues are remaining, the vast majority of baggage is travelling as planned with passengers. We are working with our airlines and third parties to reunite luggage with passengers as fast as possible and we are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and stress this has caused some of our passengers."
