A WOMAN has been forced to fork out £700 on emergency holiday supplies after an airline lost her suitcase.
Jill O’Callaghan, 54, flew to Spain from Manchester on May 10 with her partner.
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But after touching down in Palma, Mallorca, ready for well deserved holiday, her suitcase was nowhere to be seen.
Despite numerous calls and emails to airline TUI – who promised her luggage would arrive on the next flight – it still had not arrived four days later on May 14.
Left with just the clothes on her back, Jill has been forced to swipe her credit card to the tune of £700 buying essential clothes, cosmetics and car hire to last her the holiday.
To add insult to injury, she says the saga has left her panicking because a compact mirror is in the lost luggage.
The treasured item is especially important to Jill as it was given to her by her mother, who tragically died in February.
The lost mirror is now “playing on my mind” and Jill is really worried it’s lost.
As a result, the Wirral resident is now desperately seeking answers as to where on earth the bag has wound up.
She explained how following a few delays at the airport, her and her partner were on board the morning flight when they noticed her partner’s luggage on top of the carrier taking it towards the hold.
“I laughed with my partner and said ‘there’s your case’, and never gave it another thought”, she told the Manchester Evening News.
She added: “When we arrived in Palma, my partner went through to collect our luggage. I could see him with his but mine never came through the conveyor belt.
“We talked to the ground service team at Palma and we were given a reference number which was said to be the golden ticket in understanding where the case was.”
But the bag remained nowhere to be found despite the couple being told it was coming on the next flight “day after day”.
In spite of repeatedly contacting TUI on their website, Jill was unable to get a definite answer as to where her suitcase was.
She was offered a measly £75 on May 13 as a sorry from the airline but this is yet to be paid into her bank account, she said.
The couple have since had to splash out with their credit cards.
‘TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT’
Major expenses have been car hire for 70 Euros per day, to enable them to get to their nearest shopping mall, where they have spent £700 on essentials.
Jill added that trying to get through to Manchester Airport “is ridiculous” and there is “a disconnect with their passengers who are travelling”.
She slammed: “We don’t know if my luggage is lost. We are disappointed with the airport.
“We are here until a week on Saturday and if we don’t hear back from them I’m worried my suitcase is lost.”
Jill added how she and her partner “are trying our best to make the best of our holiday” despite the bag saga.
Manchester Airport was not able to comment because checking hold baggage is part of the service offered by TUI.
A spokesperson for TUI told The Sun Online: “We’d like to apologise to Ms O’Callaghan for the delay in receiving her baggage.
“We understand how frustrating this is and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused. We are in contact with her and are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for Swissport (the appointed handling agent for TUI) said: “We are urgently looking into this situation and we will work with our airline and airport partners to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”
Source: The Sun
