A tourist has been left without her luggage for three and a half months after it was lost on a flight from the capital to the Netherlands.
Kirsten who prefers to go only by her first name, came to visit Scotland in June to travel the North Coast 500 route with a group of her friends. But when she flew home from Edinburgh to Schiphol in Amsterdam, she never received her suitcase.
After months of trying to get answers from both KLM, who she flew with, and Swissport, who handle KLM's baggage, Kirsten is no further in tracking down the rogue case. She took the feud to Twitter and Tweeted both companies and Edinburgh Airport.
Kirsten wrote: "My luggage has been missing for 3.5 months. Checked in @KLM desk at Edinburgh Airport on 5th of June.
"After three calls to KLM, the case was 'escalated'. Still, no feedback provided. When visiting the Baggage Repatriation Facility, it was closed."
Individual baggage handlers including Swissport handle all queries regarding lost luggage and not the airport themselves. The airport provides the desks and the infrastructure for such agents but it is their responsibility for checking-in passengers and monitoring staffing levels.
Kirsten has reportedly been told that she must provide receipts for the items within the suitcase, some of which are years old, to file a compensation and insurance claim, while also pleading with KLM to subsidise a flight to the capital to search Swissport's luggage facility at Ingliston.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live , she said: "My suitcase got lost on a flight from Edinburgh Airport to Schiphol Airport on June 5 after we went on holiday and drove the NC500 - as you can imagine with the Scottish weather in May, I packed a variety of outfits and layers (half of my closet actually). Short sleeves, long sleeves, hiking shoes, soft shells, rain covers etc.
"The other three passengers that I was with, did get their suitcases - I went to the KLM desk at Schiphol, I was told that the employees where going to have dinner and I needed to file an online report. Did that. - KLM was being overwhelmed with calls and messages from people who lost their luggage. I called them multiple days multiple times but each time, after 20 minutes in line I got disconnected."
Kirsten added that the airline were unresponsive on both Facebook and WhatsApp before her friend went to Schiphol Airport and spoke to a KLM employee. After this, it was discovered that her case was not scanned upon arrival in Amsterdam. One of Kirsten's friends who was on holiday in London then visited the temporary storage facility but it was closed.
"Then I send an acquaintance who was on holiday in London to the just opened storage at Edinburgh airport. It was open most days, but when he arrived, it was closed that day due to 'shortage in staff'.
"He (was told he) should come back another day. This was not possible of course. I called KLM again since I was no longer able to open my file in the world wide luggage system. They finally picked up the phone. Turns out they didn't do anything.
"I am only able to get an insurance claim or KLM claim if I have all receipts. I do not have receipts for a lot of items such as underwear, cosmetics, basic t-shirts etc.
"I would have to pay for my lost luggage myself. I have told KLM multiple times that they should send someone to check the storage hall at Edinburgh for all missing luggage and they tell me 'it is not that simple'.
"I offered that if they paid for my flight and one night stay, I would make a list of all KLM suitcases. I do not understand why this is such a challenge for Edinburgh Airport and KLM. I understand that they are dealing with shortage of staff, but it cannot be that difficult to hire students for a few days to make an inventory."
A Swissport spokesperson said: “We understand this is a really frustrating situation and apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.”
Edinburgh Live approached KLM for comment.
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