An Edinburgh ex-pat who travelled over 11,000 miles to be home with family for Christmas has told how lost luggage almost scuppered the plans.
Simon Morris, 46, and his son Lachlan, 12, now live in Wellington, New Zealand after the dad moved there in 2000. After a tough couple of years unable to visit due to the pandemic, Simon was delighted to bring his son over to the capital for his first Scottish Christmas.
READ MORE - 'One of a kind' Edinburgh mum with three daughters dies suddenly as tributes flood in
The mammoth journey back to the capital went smoothly until the family arrived in Edinburgh and were informed their luggage had not made it onto the plane.
Packed with Christmas presents and all their warm clothes for the holiday in Scotland, Simon and his son were facing an awkward holidays - and had to head to the shops for replacement clothes.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live Simon said: "We arrived at Edinburgh Airport on Sunday, December 18 from Amsterdam. The fourth leg of a trip from New Zealand.
"We travelled from Wellington to Sydney to Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam to Edinburgh. It's my first Christmas back in Edinburgh for 17 years, and my Kiwi-born son's first winter Christmas.
"I got a notification almost as soon as I got off the plane from KLM that some of the luggage hadn't made the flight, and that I should lodge a lost luggage form at the service desk.
"Unfortunately, no luggage service desks were open, either in the baggage hall or in the landslide after customs. Seems all the Swissport staff at Edinburgh had left for the day, so had to fill in a form online.
"So I had to go to a shop for some essentials that I would've had if I had my luggage. We are currently staying at my aunt's flat off Slateford Road, and there's a newish Lidl close by, so quite the novel shopping experience for us both!
"We got him a fleece jacket that we found in the middle aisle, but had a good laugh at the placement of a popcorn maker, beside Harry Potter slippers, with a jigsaw above it, and a bin full of harmonicas to the side."
The dad explained: "I’m from Edinburgh but have lived in Australia and New Zealand since 2000, so this was the first time in a Lidl for either of us. We got a few other essentials such as toiletries and shampoo whilst we were there. My son Lachlan is 12 years old and this is his 5th trip to Scotland."
Simon told how a trip to the airport to try and find the lost luggage proved unsuccessful. He said: "We went to the airport with my dad to see if we could find the luggage, but no luck.
"Swissport indicated that KLM may have put the bags on a plane for Edinburgh, but they hadn’t received them. So more shopping for clothes, dressed in my casual flight tracksuit bottoms and hoodie!"
He continued: "All of the Christmas presents for my family were in the missing suitcases as well, so it could've been a bit of a frantic end of the week having to buy new presents if the suitcases hadn't turn up in the next couple of days.
"Thankfully we are quite fortunate that in Edinburgh there are shops like Primark, where I was able to pick up a fair amount of clothes for much less than I’d be able to get in New Zealand.
"My son was seeing some of the sights, visiting Camera Obscura with his uncle. He wasn't so worried about the baggage loss, more excited about being in Scotland and the possibility of a white Christmas."
Finally, dad and son were reunited with their luggage five days after arriving - and 48 hours before Christmas.
Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
Simon explained: "Quite unexpectedly my luggage turned up today (December 23, I hadn’t heard anything from Swiss-port to arrange delivery but had emailed ASAP, as I hadn’t heard anything else other than KLM emailing me yesterday morning to say that the luggage was in Edinburgh and a courier would arrange delivery.
"I'm relieved that my Xmas presents for the family are now with me, was able to bring them some treats of the most excellent NZ Whittaker’s Chocolate I had also packed for them!"
Simon has now been reunited with his luggage a week after they landed and just in time for Christmas. A spokesperson for KLM said: “We understand this matter caused inconvenience and we put all effort in solving problems like this as soon as possible.” Swissport was also approached for comment.
If you have a unique story to share this festive season I would love to hear from you - get in touch at iona.young@reachplc.com
READ NEXT
Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries becomes UK’s most-watched subscription show
Martin Lewis urges shoppers to get £433-worth of Christmas presents for £140
M&S shoppers hail £17 Christmas jumper rivalling expensive cashmere
Woman hails £30 Argos buy that 'slashed' monthly energy bill
Snacks including can trigger inflammatory bowel disease, study warns
