A mum and son who flew to Spain with TUI had to spend part of their holiday shopping for new clothes after their luggage went missing - and three weeks later it has yet to turn up. Angela Gill, 42, flew to Reus, Spain with her six-year-old son Jack and mum on June 7.
She's yet to see her case despite returning to the UK on June 21. Angela told The Mirror that TUI gave her a one-off of £75 for compensation but it doesn't make up for the £215 she had to spend on clothes, new medication and toiletries.
Angela said: "We were washing our clothes with a bar of soap every couple of days in the bathroom sink."
Before the luggage went missing, the pair waited 90 minutes to drop their bags, an hour to get through security and had to get their seats on their flight reallocated before taking off. Angela said: "We arrived at Reus airport and the last of the bags started to come out and we spotted one of ours, but then the shutters went down.
"You feel a little bit lost with what to do because you are in a foreign country."
Angela said the baggage handlers filed a report for her and explained that when the case is flown over it will be taken to the hotel free of charge. She said: "I assumed it would be 24 hours. In the one case that did come it had our shoes, beach towels and a couple of sun hats. We didn't have any clothes."
She said: "With him being six he wanted to go swimming and I couldn't let him swim in his underpants so I had to buy him a swimsuit. I was sitting around the pool in my jumper dress sweating like a bloody fool."
Angela said she phoned the airport every day for the first five days to ask if her luggage had arrived. She said: "After two or three days of being there, we next to the next town via public bus and we saw a Primark. We bought some bras, underwear and enough clothes for a couple of days."
She added: "I rang every morning and by the seventh day I just couldn't see it turning up. It was just really upsetting to think that today my case was going to arrive and it was just really heartbreaking."
Angela said apart from making sure her family had clothes to wear she desperately needed her medication. She added: "I have medication for high blood pressure. I also have a problem with my pancreas and without taking the medication it can lead to malnutrition and it causes a lot of pain if I don't take it.
"After six days of not having medication, I found a pharmacist that would sell me the medication without a prescription."
Angela says she paid about £215 to buy the most basic of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen and her medication.
When it was time to fly back to the UK on June 21, she says at the check-in desk she was told she could make a claim when she got home. She said: "I was told that we could claim £75 compensation after three days of my bag missing and on the fifth day I got the link for the bank transfer.
"I only received that last Thursday - I received nothing whilst away."
On Monday, Angela said she was told she could have to wait 35 days from when the bag went missing to file a claim. The two times she spoke to Manchester Airport they claimed the luggage was not with them, she said.
Angela said the ordeal ruined the holiday and she had to spend her holiday budget on necessities instead of a nice meal or a day trip to the zoo. She said: "Each day that passes I get more and more frustrated with the situation. As a single mum, I don't have a lot of money coming out.
"I go away on holiday and I have a budget and it's blown your whole budget out of proportion. We couldn't even go out for an evening meal."
She added: "Someone really needs to take the blame and what I find quite disturbing and that I haven't been offered the out-of-pocket expenses while I've been away."
A spokesperson Swissport - the airline's handling agent said: "The post-pandemic return in travel demand is positive news, but the current peak period – which can be stretching even in normal times - is exacerbating resource challenges across the recovering aviation industry.
"Airlines, airports, and aviation services all work together to deliver different elements of a single passenger journey and in busy periods the knock-on effects of delays stemming from one part, such as airport technical issues or security queues can lead to disruption in others.
"We are very sorry for our part in the disruption people are experiencing and are working hard to address our resource challenges, with over 2,800 new hirings since the start of the year. We will continue to work with our partners to find solutions for this industry-wide issue.”
A spokesperson for TUI said: "We’re sorry to hear about the Gill family’s experience.
"We are urgently investigating this with our baggage handler to find out exactly what has happened and we’ll be in touch with them as soon as possible to resolve the issue."
