A holidaymaker was left in tears after her check-in bag came off the luggage belt looking like it had been 'been through a shredder and burned' - leaving her wondering if it was run over by the plane. Chou Lim, from Tottenham, had checked-in her £250 Osprey backpack in preparation for her Easyjet flight from Gatwick Airport to Tenerife South Airport.
However, the 31-year-old was distraught when her bag came down the luggage belt upon arrival on the Canary Island looking 'destroyed' and with every item inside damaged. Shocking photos show the backpack appearing 'unrecognisable', with chunks of fabric ripped from all sides of the bag, rendering it unusable.
Chou then discovered that all of her belongings were also destroyed, as holes were seared through the clothing and shoes and her makeup and toiletries were shattered - leaving more than £1,000-worth of her possessions damaged and unusable. The pilates instructor says that the bag was covered in ash and had adopted a 'burning smell', as though it had been set on fire, and that her clothes looked as though they had been 'burned through'.
Chou claims that the experience left her in tears, as she had owned the backpack for years and had taken it to more than 60 countries. Chou said: "I flew in that night, and I was waiting for the bag, and everyone's bags were coming out.
"And I saw my bag coming out, and I was like, 'surely that's not my bag?' But it was. It was almost unrecognisable. I saw it and I just started crying. I had an emotional attachment to the bag, and I was travelling alone and I knew it was going to be a nuisance.
"The bag came off and I looked inside and all of my things in there had been damaged as well. There wasn't a single piece of clothing or toiletries that wasn't somehow destroyed.
"There was a fire-burning smell and it was ashy. It smelled like literal fire. It either had holes in it, or was burned completely through. It was the weirdest thing.
"It looks like it has been put through a shredder. I didn't know what to do with the bag, I couldn't even carry it [properly] because it was in pieces so I was carrying it like it was a baby.
"I actually thought that it had been run over by the wheel of the plane because it was that bad. I never found out what happened to it, and I'm desperate to know."
Chou immediately tried to seek support from the EasyJet helpdesk in Tenerife South. After finding the desk unmanned, the distressed traveller had no choice but to submit a claim for £400 through the EasyJet website, and is yet to hear back from the airline.
Chou was able to replace some of her missing essentials after arriving in Spain, but claims that she simply cannot afford to buy new versions of everything that was lost. Chou said: "It was the first backpack that I bought to travel with, and it's stayed with me through nearly 60 countries.
"When I logged my claim, I didn't want them to fight with me, I just wanted them to cover my backpack and cover some of my stuff that was in it so I only asked for £400. [It was] more than £ 1,000 worth of damages.
"Now they've taken over three weeks and I'm getting even more angry. I left the bag in Tenerife and all of my clothes. It was sad. I haven't replaced some of my clothes and my leggings because I can't afford to right now.
"It's more about how I felt; going to a desk that wasn't manned, and nobody was there, and not having an option to actually [talk to] someone. I didn't feel supported at all." London Gatwick Airport said that baggage handling agents are appointed by individual airlines so it would not be for them to comment on.
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An EasyJet spokesperson said: "We are very sorry for the damage caused to Ms Lim's bag during transit and for her experience on arrival at Tenerife. We know how crucial it is for customers to feel confident that their items are well cared for when travelling with us and so we are urgently investigating this with our ground-handling partners in London Gatwick and Tenerife.
"On the rare occasion a bag is damaged we advise customers to submit a claim for their damaged bag and so we are in touch with Ms Lim to confirm that her claim is being processed and provide a gesture of goodwill to apologise for the inconvenience caused. Tenerife South Airport have been contacted for a comment.
