Passengers Trapped In Airports Text Owners Of Lost Luggage To Reunite Them With Their Belongings

Jan 09, 2023 by apost team

Flying over the holidays has become a stressful period for most passengers who have flown to spend Christmas time with their respective families in their home states or cities. While it is expected for airlines to anticipate a huge magnitude of people arriving at their terminals, it should be customary for them to ensure that they are providing service excellently.

However, in the last week of December 2022, over 15,000 Southwest Airlines flights were canceled across the United States, sending everyone a huge headache as passengers were forced to reschedule their plans and look for alternative ways to arrive at their destinations on time. 

With the subsequent cancellations, the airline hiccup left hundreds and thousands of bags lost in between airports, airplanes, terminals, and baggage conveyor belts. Described by some as the "Armaggedon of Luggages," the chaotic scene in airports had everyone scrambling to retrieve their own luggage. 

But over to Tampa International Airport in Florida, Brittany Loubier-Vervisch, one of the passengers who was affected by the cancellations, was shocked to see the chaos that ensued over the holidays.

Speaking to WFTS Tampa Bay, Loubier-Vervisch recalled what she witnessed while she was on the escalator at the airport a day after Christmas. 

"There's bags everywhere. There's bags fully filling this space between the escalators, I've never seen anything like it," she told the outlet. 

Loubier-Vervisch, who waited hours at the gate before knowing her Denver to Tuscon flight was canceled, thought of something ingenious to help people locate their belongings on the mountain of luggage at the airport. 

As Loubier-Vervisch's husband fell in the long line to check on Customer Service on how they will locate their own belongings, she braved the mountain of luggage and tried to look for them herself. 

"I was circling through the baggage claims as stuff was coming off the line and being piled up and if there was a tag on it with a number, I sent a text," she told Insider. 

Faced with a daunting task, Loubier-Vervisch thought that she could reunite the luggage in front of her to their rightful owners while looking for hers. In total, she revealed to have texted at least 50 people, informing them of the location of their bags. Eventually, a grateful passenger posted online, thanking her for reuniting with her luggage.

As Loubier-Vervisch took on the initiative of sending the bags to their owners, people were grateful for her voluntary deed, even mistaking her for an airport employee. 

"It was an inconvenience for us," Loubier-Vervisch candidly confessed. "But for people that had no idea where in the United States their luggage could possibly be, I was like, 'Well if I at least tell them it's in Tampa, they know it's not still where they were, where they were going, or you know, they can figure out where it is and at least know where to look for it.' "

Eventually, Loubier-Vervisch's actions went viral and inspired other civilians and passengers to do the same thing. Reddit user u/Kalepopsicle started a thread urging others to help each other so they can reunite with their belongings. 

"I have another similar post but I'm really trying to spread this. Southwest is doing a terrible job of reuniting people with their luggage. It's time for us to do something about it!" the post read. 

apost.com

Have you lost your luggage in an airport before? What can you say about Brittany's actions? Would you do the same thing if you were in her position? Let us know, and pass this on to your friends, family, and other loved ones!