A new mum has been without luggage for nine days after her flight left Manchester Airport without any bags on board.
This meant Kathryn Palmer was not only without her clothes, but her 16-month old son Jenson has been without his special nappies meaning he is having a severe allergic reaction to the ones he is having to use. And she has no idea when she will get any of her four bags back, she said.
On September 11, the Iberia Express flight to Madrid set off from Manchester without bags due to a shortage of handlers. But in a bid to save funds for essential items, 34-year-old Kathryn has been forced to cancel her four-star hotel and instead is staying in four different hostels in a week, the Manchester Evening News reports.
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Landing in Madrid at around 2am on Monday September 12, they realised their luggage had not been loaded onto the plane as planned. The new mum, who was travelling with son Jenson and friend Tammy, said it has "been horrendous" as she added: "I have my 16-month-old baby crying with me, and it’s a massive airport. We had to get a train to the other terminal (to collect our bags).
"We went to the carousel and it said Manchester on it, but shortly after we saw a few passengers crying. Other passengers said that we needed to go to the desk."
After waiting in a queue for an hour to find out what was happening with their luggage, they lost their transfer and so were forced to pay for another hotel instead of going to Toledo as planned. But as well as being without clothes, 16-month old Jenson has been without nappies and anti-rash cream. Jenson is allergic to most nappies, and can only use one particular brand in the UK and Kathryn has been unable to find it in Spain.
She said: "He has a rash all over him. We have not been able to see a doctor because we have no money. They said we would get compensation within seven days, but it could be 30 days.
"We are on the last bit of money. We have had to spend it on clothes and essentials for him. It’s been a complete nightmare. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for us. We have come to enjoy ourselves. We are not children, we have had a really bad previous two years, for personal reasons as well, so we have come just to let loose and we are not able to do that."
Iberia Express has been approached for comment but on Wednesday, September 17 it issued a statement about the troubled flight. They said: "On the 11th of September on flight IB3693 MAN-MAD, the checked baggage could not be loaded onto the aeroplane due to the lack of handling agents from our handling provider in Manchester.
"Upon arrival in Madrid, we informed all of the passengers about the lack of checked luggage and, as you said, it was explained to them that all essential expenses incurred can be claimed back and reimbursed by the company once they have been analysed. Also, I would like to point out that, in order to track the status of the luggage search, passengers should fill out a document called a Property Irregularity Report (PIR), to receive a claim number that then can be used to manage this matter.
"Tonight, we are operating the first MAN-MAD flight since Sunday (I23693 MAN-MAD 14SEP 21:15-0:45H) in which all of the bags will be regularised and delivered to the passengers as soon as possible. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused."
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