A woman who has spent 40 hours searching a Dublin Airport warehouse over eight separate visits for her lost suitcases has opened up on her "exhausting" ordeal
Ann-Marie Toolen arrived home on July 19 but her two large suitcases were left behind by baggage handlers in Germany. Lufthansa claims both bags eventually arrived at Dublin Airport on July 22 and 24 and Ann-Marie spent all of August trying to find them.
The 51-year-old told the Irish Mirror: “I just wanted my suitcases back. It shouldn’t be this difficult.” The mum-of-three, from Firhouse in Dublin, has made repeated phone calls, sent texts and emails, and launched appeals on social media.
Read more: How Aer Lingus passengers who had their flights cancelled at Dublin Airport can claim compensation
She even asked for help from champion golfer Shane Lowry when he tweeted two months ago to ask for help to find his missing luggage. Golfer Leona Maguire, 27, also recovered her luggage from Dublin Airport when she tweeted for help.
Ann-Marie said: “There are thousands of bags and cases in the warehouse. Anyone can go in and collect their luggage if they have a delayed/missing incident report number.
“When I mentioned to someone that it wasn’t common knowledge that the bags were there in a warehouse, I was told that they didn’t want hundreds of people turning up to look for their bags. People on Twitter are asking if I can check to see if their bags are in the warehouse. People are desperate. I have been eight times now to the warehouse.
“On the fourth visit on August 22, I found the blue case after weeks of searching for it. It was mouldy but we didn’t care. It was like Christmas Day.
“I am still looking for our second case. Lufthansa says they sent it on July 24, but I cannot get anyone at Dublin Airport to confirm this. I cannot make an insurance claim because the airline refuses to admit that it is missing. They say it is in Dublin Airport.
“It is exhausting and time consuming and frustrating. There are thousands of people in the same boat and no one is putting pressure on the authorities. I live in Firhouse, which is an hour round-trip to the airport.
“Some days, I walk right into the warehouse and others I have to wait 40 minutes. On one or two visits I have spent over an hour just searching through the various rows of suitcases.” Health coach Ann-Marie, who runs My Innate Vitality Health and Wellness in Dublin, fears her bags could end up in bins, similarly to those shown recently in online photos to have been dumped.
She said: “My 15-year-old daughter Matilda and I were in Australia to see my parents and flew back to Dublin via Singapore and Frankfurt. I’ve had to buy new clothes and underwear, but I don’t want to fill in a form for compensation – I just want our bag back.
“Unfortunately, we’re not famous. It seems that you have to be famous to be sure of getting your bags back. I’m delighted for people like Shane Lowry and Leona Maguire but it’s much harder for the ordinary Joe. Does anyone give a s**t? I’m so angry.”
A spokesperson for Sky Handling Partners told the Irish Mirror it is looking into the matter.
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