Edinburgh tourists were left only with "clothes on their backs" after their four hold bags were lost during their flight from Rome to Edinburgh via Paris with Air France.
Jessica Aguirre and her two daughters, Isabella and Olivia, came to Edinburgh - where one of the girls has just completed a semester abroad - on Sunday, June 3, to enjoy sightseeing before packing up one of the sibling's student accommodation and heading back to California.
This was meant to be the final leg of the family's fascinating three-week trip that saw them travelling across Italy, enjoying exciting birthday shopping and snapping up designer gear. However, upon arrival at Edinburgh Airport, the tourists were greeted with chaos and the disappointment of having their bags lost in transit.
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Jessica, 59, from America, said: "As soon as we entered the luggage area, there were hundreds of unclaimed bags everywhere. That immediately had me worried.
"It took at least an hour before our flight even appeared on the baggage carousel board. Then, it took another hour for the board even to announce they were unloading bags.
After three hours of waiting, I went to the Swissport desk, and there was no one, only a sign which said fill out a paper and drop it in a box along with a box filled with hundreds of pieces of paper.
"After four hours, my daughters tell me the luggage carousel has simply stopped, and about 30 people from our flight are luggage-less and with no answers."
In an attempt to get information about the missing bags, Jessica called Air France, only to be told by an answering machine that she should fill in an online form. Jessica explained, however, that when filling out the form, it said that Edinburgh Airport does not qualify for online claim requests, and she should seek the airline's representatives who were not present at the airport.
"It's like some strange Alice in Wonderland Circle with no answers and only questions," she said.
Devastated to have all of their belongings and shopping missing, the trio had to spend the first day in Edinburgh shopping for some essentials.
Reflecting on their experience so far, Jessica said: "We were travelling for three weeks and have bags filled with designer clothes, shoes, handbags, makeup and swimsuits. We shopped in Italy since we were celebrating birthdays.
"There is no way the airline can replace our goods, but the most frustrating part is the lack of communication and care for its passengers.
"We spent thousands of dollars on our tickets, and Air France could care less. I have emailed, called and tweeted them - and nothing. They have zero care for customer help. And I am sorry, but the Edinburgh airport was terrible."
Due to fly back out to the US in a day, Jessica, who is a news presenter at NBC Bay Area, is uncertain if their lost luggage would ever find its way back to the family. She said: "Today is our last day here, and we go back to the US, and how are they going to get our bags to us?
"My kids are so upset they bought presents for their friends that were all lost in the bags. It is their first trip to Europe, and it is marred by this experience."
Swissport is the company responsible for handling luggage for Air France. Their spokesperson said: "We're sorry to hear about this passenger's experience. Unfortunately, a significant number of bags from a range of airports and operators are not being loaded onto connecting flights into Edinburgh.
"Instead, they are arriving on different, later flights after most passengers have already left the airport. The knock-on effect of these missed baggage connections has created a backlog of luggage to be processed. We understand this is a really frustrating situation for passengers, and we're working closely with our airline and airport partners to process these bags as fast as we can."
After being approached for a comment, a spokesperson for Air France said: "Due to the problematic operational situation at many airports around the world and following a strike action by some Paris Aeroport teams in charge of baggage handling on July 1, Air France is currently experiencing a higher than normal number of baggage irregularities.
"Air France baggage teams at airports and call centres have been reinforced and are fully mobilised to ensure that delayed baggage is delivered to affected customers as quickly as possible and that the situation rapidly returns to normal.
"Air France regrets this situation and apologises to the customers concerned."
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