A dad whose flight was supposed to land at Manchester Airport was left 'in tears' after losing his suitcase in Birmingham amid winter travel chaos. Freezing weather on Saturday (December 10) meant Jeremi Kaliba's Ryanair flight from Prague was unable to arrive in Manchester as planned.
The 36-year-old, who has a nine-month-old son, was supposed to land in Manchester at 7.40am. But with the airport's runways closed due to snow, the flight was diverted to Liverpool before being moved again to Birmingham Airport, where it landed at 9.20am.
Jeremi was taken by bus back to Manchester along with the other passengers, the Liverpool Echo reports. But as he arrived at 6pm, he realised his suitcase had been left in Birmingham - along with cash, Christmas presents, and medication for his son Philip.
Jeremi, from Walton, Merseyside, said: "There was no information for passengers about where to go; there was no information at all. We landed and were looking for ground staff and there was no one.
"I was running around, talking to everyone I could, asking what can I do, who can I call. I tried to call one man who deals with luggage at Birmingham Airport and he told me he was busy and just hung up the phone.
"I was in tears, thinking what should I do now. I was really crying because I didn't know what I should do.
"The Ryanair staff told me I needed to speak to Birmingham Airport directly, but they don't pick up the phone. I was calling seven or eight different numbers and nobody could help me."
After spending three hours on hold while trying to contact the airport on Sunday, Jeremi, a supervising manager for JustEat, said he would visit his GP today to try and refill his son's medication. But the exact whereabouts of his suitcase remains unknown.
He said: "I feel completely devastated. I really don't care about compensation or making a claim, I just want my suitcase back.
"I understand it was very snowy and icy, so we needed to be diverted. I'm really OK with that, even though we spent a lot of hours at the airport and on the bus. But our stuff is really important."
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "Due to severe snowy weather across the UK, we have been experiencing some disruption to flights to/from some UK airports, including this flight from Prague to Manchester (10 Dec) which was forced to divert to Birmingham. To minimise disruption, this passenger was transported to Manchester by coach, however, his checked bag remained at Birmingham Airport and is being couriered directly to him today.
"We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result this weather-related disruption, which was beyond our control." Birmingham Airport was also approached for comment.
READ NEXT:
Police officer tried to punch through ice as others waded into freezing lake to save tragic children
Parents angered at 'rip off' Christmas experience at Trafford Centre
Greater Manchester shopping street and 70s fashion frozen in time in rare photos
Wintry scenes in Manchester city centre as people huddle for warmth
