Jill O’Callaghan, 54, travelled with TUI from Manchester Airport to Palma, Mallorca, on Tuesday - but her suitcase wasn’t brought on the plane. The airline said the luggage would arrive on the next flight but, by Saturday, it still hadn’t reached furious Jill.
The woman was left with just the clothes she wore on the plane for a few days, so she had to spend £700 on buying essential clothes, cosmetics and car hire to last her until the end of her holiday.
Speaking to Manchester Evening News, Jill said: “I laughed with my partner and said ‘there’s your case’, and never gave it another thought.
“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.
“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.”
Jill’s late mother’s compact mirror was amongst her belongings.
The worried holidaymaker is now desperately trying to find out where her luggage is.
It’s the latest snag in a series of issues Jill and her spouse claim they have faced with TUI as they had initially booked a skiing trip with the travel giant’s sister firm Crystal Skiing earlier this year.
This was changed though to a summer holiday with TUI.
Jill, from the Wirral, Merseyside, added: “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.
“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.”
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.”
