A Scots mum whose bag has gone missing at Edinburgh Airport claims she witnessed thousands of abandoned cases lying around the busy travel hub. Margaret Brennan and her husband, from Callander, boarded a British Airways flight to London City on Friday morning for a posh work event.
But when the 54-year-old landed, she discovered her case had failed to follow her onto the plane and remained in Edinburgh amidst widespread baggage chaos across UK airports. The mum-of-two claims she was told her bag would be sent out via courier to her weekend accommodation by Saturday at the latest.
But she was forced to make a mad dash to the shops for replacement clothes and make-up when it didn’t arrive, causing her to fear sentimental items in the case may be lost forever. Despite twice being told her bag was on its way to her, Margaret had to fly home on Sunday and claims she was greeted by a mountain of suitcases at Edinburgh Airport.
She explained: “When we came back through on Sunday night, there were bags everywhere. What worries me is there were loads of suitcases in a corridor, just lying there.
“No one was watching them. It’s surely a security risk? Anyone could easily go in and put something on top of this pile And secondly, some unscrupulous person could easily come along and steal them.
“I’m absolutely gutted. We were going down for three events in London so it’ll cost about £3000 to replace the contents of my case. It’s not even that though - it’s the fact that I’ve got sentimental items in there and no one seems to care.
“There seems to be a crisis with baggage at Edinburgh Airport. A friend’s daughter came back from a university group trip and 15 of their bags were missing. My other friend’s daughter came back from Germany, three bags arrived a week later and one is still missing. It’s horrendous. The common denominator is Edinburgh Airport.”
Complaints handler Margaret claims she has been given the run around by British Airways who have twice given her inaccurate information. She explained: “When I arrived at London City, I was standing around with other families who were meant to be flying on to Greece and Orlanda for holidays. All their bags also didn’t arrive.
“Naively, I asked if they could just put it on the next flight down and I’d just wait at the airport but I was told it wasn’t as easy as that. I was told not to worry and they’d get the case by Saturday in the worst case scenario.
“I called BA again that night but was told they were still searching for it. This went on until Sunday morning when we called the BA baggage number.
“We were told the bag had been located and it would be with a courier and delivered that day in London. We were meant to be going out for a fancy lunch in Oxford but we decided to stay in for the bag arriving. But it never came.
“I called back at teatime to be told they hadn’t found my bag and that we hadn’t been told it was coming. They were basically accusing us of lying.
“We were flying home via Heathrow Airport and when we checked in, I went to the BA customer service desk. I was under the impression my bag was at London City but she said it was with a courier that repatriates bags to their owners.
“So off I went, all happy thinking I’d be getting my bag back. But then when I called up the next day, I was told they didn’t have my bag or any record of it.
“I was then told my bag had not been logged anywhere since I had checked it on Friday morning at Edinburgh Airport. I’d also spent a fortune on clothes for the trip but instead of wearing the outfit I’d planned, I had to buy a cheap jumpsuit and some Primark sandals.
“I thought my bag would turn up so I didn’t see the point in going and spending loads of money in the meantime. But now I’m going on holiday in a week. I’ve no makeup. Some of the stuff in my case I was going to take with me.
“The airline said we could claim up to £50 a day in the meantime but my foundation costs that. We always take annual travel insurance but because of covid, we haven’t gone abroad.
“So we’ve taken out travel insurance now but it doesn’t start until next week. The loss of my luggage is making me ill.”
Edinburgh Airport said it was a matter for the baggage handling firm Menzies, who we have contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for British Airways said: "We're doing everything we can to reunite our customer with their baggage as soon as possible. We apologise for the delay and inconvenience caused."
Thousands of air travellers across the country have been affected by mass cancellations, long airport delays and lost baggage in recent weeks due to staff shortages. A mountain of suitcases was recently pictured at Heathrow Airport with one handler describing the situation as the ‘worst they had seen in a decade’.
A spokeswoman for Menzies Aviation added: "Menzies Aviation is aware that some passengers travelling from Edinburgh Airport have experienced issues with collecting their hold baggage. Unfortunately, this is due to the well-documented staff shortage and supply chain issues affecting the entire aviation industry.
"Menzies is currently working hard alongside our partners across the aviation supply chain to ensure affected passengers are reunited with their bags as soon as possible, and a Menzies representative has contacted the passenger in question directly to provide support.“
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