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HomeWorldPassengers at Pearson airport angered by lengthy delays in recovering luggage

Passengers at Pearson airport angered by lengthy delays in recovering luggage


Pearson airport said it is working through its luggage backlog and expects “many more bags” to be reunited with passengers by the end of Tuesday, as travellers reported going days without their belongings following extreme travel disruptions.

One man told the Toronto Star that his family has gone without bags for three days after checking them on a flight that never even took off. Another woman spotted her son’s lost luggage at a check-in kiosk at Pearson while on her way to meet him in Cuba.

Airports across the continent were thrown into chaos this week after a pre-Christmas winter storm caused widespread delays and cancellations, upending holiday travel. At Pearson, photos of hundreds of suitcases piled in the baggage claim have flooded social media, while some passengers reported a broken luggage belt.

Cal Noehring, his wife and two kids were booked to travel from Toronto to Saskatoon on Christmas Eve to spend the holidays with family. But one cancelled flight and 14 hours later, they returned home from Pearson airport without their belongings, which were nowhere to be found in an airport full of unclaimed bags.

“What ended up happening is we spent $100 on Uber to lose our bags,” Noehring said.

According to Pearson airport’s departures board, roughly one-third of flights were delayed Tuesday afternoon while a handful were cancelled.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Pearson, said a significant amount of the luggage backlog has been reunited with passengers.

“We expect many more bags to be dispersed by end of day,” said Rachel Bertone, adding that passengers should get in touch with their airline about any lost bags.

But more than three days after they were set to travel, Noehring had heard nothing from Air Canada about his family’s bags, which contain Christmas presents for Noehring’s 11- and 12-year-old kids.

“Now they’re unsure about Santa,” he said. The family has been rebooked to fly on Thursday — but aren’t sure if they’ll get their bags back by then.

Air Canada said it is “dealing with a backlog of bags at Toronto due to severe weather on the weekend that coincided with the holiday peak in travel.”

“Challenging” weather over the weekend “resulted in a large number of last-minute cancellations — including cases where customers and bags were already on board aircraft — creating a high volume of bags needing to be given back to customers,” the airline said.

“We are currently working through this backlog to reconnect customers with their baggage as quickly as possible and we regret any delay customers may be experiencing.”

The scene at Pearson airport’s Terminal 1 arrivals area was quieter Tuesday, though dozens of unclaimed bags still lined the floor between luggage belts.

Nancy Lynch will be arriving in Cuba to meet her son with a late holiday gift: his lost luggage, left behind at Pearson days earlier. Lynch and her husband decided to travel with only carry-on bags Tuesday after their son was forced to part with his luggage when he travelled south on Christmas Day.

Nancy Lynch points out her son's luggage to take with her to Cuba near Sunwing's departure area at Pearson airport where he left it days earlier due to conveyor belt issues.

But by a stroke of luck, when walking to the check-in counter, Lynch spotted her son’s lost bag near a Sunwing kiosk. By showing the agent a copy of her son’s passport, Lynch was able to bring the bag with her.

“He’s just thrilled because now he can have something other than his spare bathing suit to wear,” Lynch said.

Lex Harvey is a Toronto-based transportation reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @lexharvs

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