Travel chaos has been the story of some of the UK's largest airports in the last few months. Since April, queuing passengers, crammed check-in desks and stacked security have been the order of the day.
Like many, I saw the incidents of holiday horror on the news. Was it the lack of post-pandemic staff, or the impact of the cost of living crisis?
Whatever the cause, I wasn't travelling far afield for my summer break, so I wasn't too worried. In fact, I was staying in the UK, flying the 400 miles up to Inverness from Manchester Airport to see my sister for a week, working from her place as a breaking news editor for Reach PLC.
My hand luggage was carefully thought through before heading to the airport. I had no desire to get stuck in the security melee I had heard about, so anything which could remotely be considered contentious, I popped in my hold baggage alongside my clothes.
This included, but was not limited to, my laptop charging cable, my toiletries - even if below the permitted 100ml size - and my Tamoxifen prescription. This is medication I have to take daily for five years after I was treated for breast cancer in 2021.
Satisfied that I was beyond reproach with my hand baggage, I went to the check-in desk for my £302 Loganair flight to Inverness in Manchester's Terminal 3 and bid farewell to my 15kg wheeled bag which would meet me off the conveyor in the Highlands. Security took a little over an hour to clear with no issues, and as I popped my laptop into a separate tray I felt glad to be through the chaos I had read about unscathed.
Landing in Inverness, I stood with the other passengers watching and waiting as the conveyor belt spun past with everything from brightly-coloured suitcases to dark wheeled bags passing me by. But after 10 minutes, the conveyor was empty - but no sign of my bag at all.
Not to worry, bags go missing all of the time. So the Loganair staff member told me at the check-in desk of the diminutive airport.
I registered my case as missing with her and she gave me a reference number for it, telling me to check it on the World Tracer baggage tracking website and giving me an email address for the baggage agent, Dalcross Handling. The courier service would likely be in touch to deliver it two days later on Monday, she said.
Slightly annoyed but resigned to two nights without my case, I popped to the supermarket on the way to my sister's to grab a toothbrush, and put it to rest. Sunday saw me having to use my sister's laptop for work, as my power cable was in the bag.
I emailed the baggage agent around lunchtime on Sunday in the hope of getting a response first thing Monday and also as I had discovered that the World Tracker baggage tracing site was throwing up an error message, saying "your airline is not a member of this service". Irritated, I was looking forward to getting my case back.
I'd missed my Tamoxifen on Sunday morning, but I reasoned I could take two on Monday when it arrived in my case, so I wasn't too worried. But Monday went and Tuesday came, and there was no word from anyone, leaving me to shop for new clothes as the one outfit I had travelled in was in need of a wash at this stage.
I opened up Twitter and tweeted Dalcross Handling, but the account looked inactive. I also tweeted Loganair saying that I was waiting for word from Dalcross, but that I hadn't heard anything and I needed my medication.
On Wednesday morning, four days in, my sister took me the two-hour round-trip to Inverness Airport to speak to a real person face-to-face about the issue. The Loganair member on the desk was friendly and courteous, but was clear - they did not know where my luggage was.
Her advice was to keep tweeting Loganair in an attempt to get answers. I checked the social network when I got home and Loganair had indeed tweeted me back to ask for my reference, so I sent my details and said that World Tracer wasn't showing any information about the case.
They assured me on private message that their 'baggage systems were currently being upgraded'. In the meantime, amazing news - my baggage "has been located and is due to arrive into Inverness today", and they would update me soon.
'Soon' came and went, and 20 hours later I tweeted Loganair again. They said that the World Tracer site had been updated, and advised that I try logging in again.
I tried and got the same error message again, I told them. Half an hour later, I received a private message on Twitter back from Loganair, saying: "We aren't the baggage team here so I've just been updated that we don't subscribe to this function which is why it wont be working! I'm sorry they passed this incorrect info."
That wasn't the only disappointment, as the message went on: "I've tried calling Inverness for you but I believe the team are dealing with a flight at the moment. I'll send them an email for them to contact you directly."
The helpful Loganair staff member also thought this was an appropriate time to check that I knew it was acceptable to put medication in my hand luggage, saying: "Can I just check regarding the medication, we always ask passengers to carry essential medication in hand luggage and we allow medical bags to travel free in the cabin and with a prescription they are exempt from the usual 100ml security rule, were you asked by staff to add your medication to your hold bag?"
I said - in a message sent just after 2pm on Thursday, after five days without my medication - that the decision to put them it in my hold luggage was mine, and one which I obviously now regret, for ease of travel. I added: "I didn’t expect my bag to be missing for the majority of my time up here."
I haven't received any more messages from Loganair after that, and the customer service email and number for Dalcross Handling remain unanswered. I tweeted Manchester Airport on Friday morning - six days in - thinking maybe they would have something to add, but sadly they knew as much as everyone else on the case: nothing.
"Whilst we are sorry to hear that you are without your luggage, your airline and their handling agent are responsible for returning your luggage to you and so you will need to contact them directly to resolve this. Thank you."
Saturday morning will mark seven days without my luggage since I flew north on a £302 flight, and I have one day left in Scotland. It's been sent to Inverness, I have been told, but Inverness knows nothing about it.
Although it could conceivably still be in Manchester, no one seems able to check. I read on the Loganair website that bags are considered 'delayed' for 21 days before then being designated 'lost'. The site also says the airline will respond to lost luggage queries within 28 days, but in light of my recent experiences, I'm not holding my breath.
