I know it happens all the time. I'm not the first person to experience it and will not be the last. It's probably happened to someone you know, or maybe even you. It's something travellers prepare for when they decide what to carry on and what to pack. But when you arrive at an overseas airport and your Luggage doesn't ... well, it's a different kind of travel experience.
Three weeks ago, I flew out of Wellington bound for Sydney, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur with the same airline (including one partner flight). I had been advised that the SYD-SIN sector would be delayed but my luggage would follow me to Kuala Lumpur, even when my SIN-KUL flight was rebooked to a later time. "Don't worry," I was told repeatedly. "We do this all the time. We'll put a priority tag on it." I tried not to worry.
Apparently the final flight on any given day is most likely to have lost luggage, especially when connecting flights are involved. It's even more challenging if different airlines are involved. It makes sense, really. Given the choice of having a passenger arrive without luggage or having them both stranded in an unintended port, the priority is usually to board the passenger and hope for the best. I'm told that most bags and owners are reunited within 24 hours. However, the feeling of watching the last bag make its way around a large airport conveyor belt and realising that it's not yours is quite surreal.
And then the real process starts. Where is my bag? Who can help me find it this late at night? Which of the lost property offices do I go to? Not this one ... where is the right one? How come my bag can't be traced if it was scanned at every port? (Apparently a sticker fell off on the way to Singapore, so it was not scanned there.) Shall we cross our fingers and assume it just missed the final flight, rather than the first or second? How will I know when it's found? (Giving your email address and a contact number is no guarantee they'll get it right when they email you.)
To cut a long story short, returning to the airport 24 hours later and navigating airport security meant I was on the scene when it was discovered that my bag was in fact on its way to me and perhaps was even on the runway as we speak ... by now, I was getting to know the lone lost luggage attendant quite well and wasn't ready to let him out of my sight until my bag and I were happily reunited.
I have never been to pleased to see an inanimate object. Count all those priorities tags!
| Three priorities tags! |
Lessons learnt
- Pack one or even two changes of underwear. You'll be glad you did once you make it to your accommodation, shower and have to put your travel clothes on again.
- Carry two (2) USB power packs and several cables in your carry on luggage. Don't assume you'll be able to charge it when you arrive, unless you also want to carry a wall plug and adaptor.
- I travel with few toiletries but am glad I had a comb, deodorant, and anti-bacterial gel on me. A small toothbrush and soap could be handy if your hotel doesn't supply them.
- Take a photo of your bag before you travel so you know which details to record on the lost property form (colour, dimensions, brand etc).
