Elderly German Couple Left Without Luggage, And Their Medication, Following Airport Chaos On Return To Malta
An elderly German couple was one of many left on the receiving end of ongoing airport chaos. Chaos that left them without their own luggage, which contained their medication.
Mago and Joe have been living in St Paul’s Bay for the better part of 25 years. The pair often travel to and from their hometown of Düsseldorf to visit family. However, their latest trip – on Wednesday 22nd June – was marred with its fair share of inconveniences.
Problems began with a three-hour delay in the flight. But the trouble didn’t end there.
“That wasn’t the worst part of it all,” Mago told Lovin Malta. “After waiting for hours at the airport, the staff later announced that they would only be allowing us to fly without our luggage.”
Mago and her husband checked two bags, though ‘problems with staffing’ hampered the smooth running of operations for passengers.
“We were told that they didn’t have enough staff at the Düsseldorf airport to load the luggage,” Mago said. “And we weren’t informed when we would see our luggage again.”
“The problem was that our pills were in our checked-in bags.”
Following their return to Malta, the couple wasted no time emailing Air Malta in an attempt to inquire about the whereabouts of their baggage. But allegedly, they were only met with automated messages.
Four days later, and still without their belongings, the couple visited Malta International Airport personally. Surprisingly, they found one out of the two bags waiting for them at Air Malta Baggage Services.
“You wouldn’t believe it!” Mago said. “One of our two suitcases and nobody even knew about our emails.”
“We’re not really sure whether our other bag is in Malta or Düsseldorf, or anywhere else in the world for that matter.”
A spokesperson from Air Malta has told Lovin Malta that airports across the globe have all been kept under the thumb of severe staffing issues. Concerning Mago and Joe’s flight, however, it was the case that all baggage have been ‘actioned’.
What this means is that staff at Air Malta have taken the necessary steps to deliver each passenger’s bag right where it needs to be. In cases where a passenger would stay on the island for just a few days, then the luggage was returned to Düsseldorf to be found upon their return.
“All persons have been contacted by Air Malta staff to determine the best way forward for them to have their baggage reclaimed,” he said. “Unfortunately, it was out of the airline’s control, but they have done their best to deliver the bags to their passengers.”
Earlier last week, Times of Malta reported a similar event after travelers who arrived on an Air Malta flight were left without their luggage after a technical malfunction with the airport’s baggage system.
The malfunction led to around 100 bags belonging to the airline’s passengers remaining undelivered to their owners.
Two years of COVID-19-related restrictions on travel has seen the demand for travel come back to bite hard after slashed airport jobs have left several airlines struggling to keep up.
With summer underway, passengers on all fronts are encountering chaotic scenes at the airports, starting with long delays (if not a canceled flight altogether) and lost luggage.
Have you experienced similar problems while traveling to and from the island?