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A woman was forced to fork out £700 on her credit card after her suitcase went missing. Jill O’Callaghan, 54, flew to Palma, Mallorca, from Manchester on Tuesday (May 10) and arrived – but her suitcase wasn’t brought on the plane.
Despite numerous calls and emails to airline TUI, who said her luggage would arrive on the next flight over, her luggage has still not arrived as of Saturday (May 14). Left with just the clothes she wore on the plane for a few days, Jill has since spent £700 on buying essential clothes, cosmetics and car hire to last her until the end of her holiday.
She has been left in a state of angst and worry, not just for the suitcase, but due to the fact her late mother’s compact mirror was amongst her belongings. Jill is now desperately seeking answers as to where her luggage is and has raised concerns about the impending increase of holiday-makers through the airport over the school holidays.
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Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Jill said she and her partner were due to go skiing with TUI’s sister company, Crystal Skiing, earlier this year but were able to switch to a summer holiday to Palma instead. After a few delays at the airport, the couple were on board the morning flight when they noticed her partner’s luggage on top of the carrier taking it towards the hold.
“I laughed with my partner and said ‘there’s your case’, and never gave it another thought,” she said. “When we arrived in Palma, my partner went through to collect our luggage. I could see him with his but mine never came through the conveyor belt.
“We talked to the ground service team at Palma and we were given a reference number which was said to be the golden ticket in understanding where the case was. We were told it was coming on the next flight day after day, but when that flight came in, there was no case.”
Despite repeatedly contacting TUI on their website, Jill was unable to get a definite answer as to where her suitcase was. She was offered £75 on Friday (May 13), but this is yet to be paid into her bank account, she said.
The couple have since had to use their credit cards to hire a car for 70 Euros per day, to enable them to get to their nearest shopping mall where they have bought essential items to the tune of £700.
On their way back to their hotel, they stopped in at Palma airport to see if they could get some assistance. “Nobody can get through to Manchester Airport. Trying to get through to them is ridiculous. there is a disconnect with their passengers who are travelling,” Jill, from the Wirral, said.
“We don’t know if my luggage is lost. We are disappointed with the airport. We are here until a week on Saturday and if we don’t hear back from them I’m worried my suitcase is lost.
“I keep thinking if someone was travelling with their children or had medication in their suitcase. We are trying our best to make the best of our holiday. We just keep trying to get answers.
“My fear is that we will get home and they’ll deliver it when we are home. Sadly I lost my mum in February and I had a compact mirror of hers in my case that she gave me. I am worried I won’t get it back and it’s playing on my mind.
“It’s my personal belongings. It’s a hopeless situation. I don’t want to spend the rest of my holiday worrying. They can’t give me assurance that it will be delivered on the next flight and there is this void and I am in a degree of angst,” she added.
As checking in hold baggage is part of the service offered by the airline, Manchester Airport was not able to comment. A spokesperson for TUI said: “We’d like to apologise to Ms O’Callaghan for the delay in receiving her baggage. We understand how frustrating this is and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused. We are in contact with her and are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for Swissport (the appointed handling agent for TUI) s aid: “We’re sorry to hear about this passenger’s experience. We are urgently looking into this situation and we will work with our airline and airport partners to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”
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