A family is facing the prospect of abandoning their two-week trip after their suitcases for a holiday in Mallorca vanished - with bank cards, clothes and medication inside. Louise Ali believes TUI 'couldn't care less' after her family's suitcases failed to arrive in Palma following their flight from Manchester on Wednesday morning (August 3).
She is supposed to be enjoying a sun-drenched holiday in the popular destination for a fortnight with husband Hassan Ali, 38, and their two young sons Haris, eight, and Raff, two. But with the cases disappearing with credit and debit cards, a pre-paid holiday money card and vital treatment cream for little Raff's eczema, Louise says she will now have to come back home.
Louise was able to drop her suitcases off on Tuesday night in advance of the family's 6.20am flight, although she had to queue for three hours to wait for the drop off. The family returned to Manchester Airport at 3am the next day after a sleepless night and got through security, but their flight was delayed for two-and-a-half hours.
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Passengers were told the delay was due to baggage issues and that the only pilot available had not had enough sleep to meet safety requirements, Louise said. Having been due to land in Palma at around 10am, the family finally reached the Mallorca airport at around 12.45pm - but their bags never arrived.
"It's been horrific from start to finish," Louise, 37, told the Manchester Evening News . "I got to the desk at Palma and there was no help. They said it could come on the next flight, tomorrow, in a few days. They said this is happening all the time at Manchester - don't worry.
"TUI said to call back after six days - what do I do for six days? It took me eight hours to get hold of somebody and they said there was nothing they could do."
Her luggage included a handbag which contained her bank cards, credit cards and a pre-paid travel money card. As well as clothes and shoes, it also included steroid cream to treat her son's eczema, which could not be carried as cabin baggage as it was over 100ml.
Louise was told to check the tracking page on TUI's website, but her bags are not shown. "There's no sight of these cases anywhere, they have vanished," said Louise.
"You wouldn't mind if someone said they were looking into it for you, they will try to find it, but it's nothing - radio silence. They couldn't care less.
"We can't go out now. They said to go and find some [steroid cream] from somewhere and we could claim it back but we've got to wait for three weeks in case they find our cases. I've got no clothes, no shoes, nothing.
Louise is now left regretting her decision to keep her cards in her luggage, rather than taking them on board. She added: "I was just rushing, it's the perfect storm. I'm kicking myself for being so stupid. I can't stay here because I've got nothing. I've got to go home.
"There are probably loads of us [in this situation]. The person we spoke to at Palma said Manchester was the worst for it, there are so many bags going missing all the time."
A spokesperson for TUI said the company was 'very sorry' to hear about the luggage issues which have affected the family. The spokesperson added: "We are urgently investigating this with our baggage handler to find out exactly what happened and our team in resort will be in touch with the customer as soon as possible today to help resolve the issue."
A spokesperson for Swissport, which handled Louise's luggage at Manchester Airport, added: “We’re sorry to hear that Ms Ali's flight was delayed and about her subsequent baggage issues. Airlines, airports, and aviation services all work together to deliver different elements of a single passenger journey, and in peak travel periods, the knock-on effects of delays across the travel process can lead to disruption in others.
"We apologise for the frustration this has caused, and we're working closely with our airline partner to reunite the passenger with their luggage as soon as possible.”
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