It’s no secret, Jamil and I have traveled throughout much of the world. Here and there, airlines have forgotten one of our bags, creating a bit of uncomfortable but manageable strife.
For example, United misplaced a bag containing Josephine’s car seat and our winter coats when she was about 4 months old; we wandered around Rome and bought some substitute goods but received the bag before the road trip through the countryside began. And just recently, United left my bag in Houston on our trip to Washington, DC. Thanks to the modern bag tracking system, we could easily see that the bag had been put on the next flight and would arrive later in the afternoon. No big deal at all!
None of that prepared us for the chaos that ensued when Iberia misplaced ALL FIVE of our bags. Yes, I said five. Yes, we pack a lot — probably too much, but who can tell it’s too much until the trip is over and you can see what you didn’t wear? In any case, not a single bag made it with us to Madrid.
Before we left, Jamil put new batteries in our AirTags and made sure every bag had an AirTag. Consequently, when we landed in Madrid, we could see clearly that the bags were nestled in a corner at London Gatwick. We presumed Iberia would do just what United did: stick it on the next flight out, which would leave in just a few hours. We’d have to go a little while — possibly overnight, without our gear — but nothing earth shattering.
We went blithely to the customer service counter in the airport, expecting them to confirm that the bags had never left London. However, Iberia said the bags had made it to Madrid. And it soon became clear that they had no tracking data whatsoever. When I showed them that the AirTags were in London, they tried to convince me that the AirTags were imprecise; the bags had yet to be located but would likely show up in the next (get this!) 72 hours! They told me to check the online system for updates and to purchase necessities until our five bags were found.
We left perplexed because we knew exactly where the bags were. That night, I barely slept because I was so worried that our bags would fall into some luggage abyss somewhere, and we’d never see our things again. In the middle of the night, Jamil and I determined that we had to take matters into our own hands. We bought a ticket for Jamil to fly to London in the morning and collect the bags.
When he got to London, Jamil learned that the bags were indeed sitting on the tarmac, and the Iberia/British Airways personnel put the bags on his return flight. They assured him he wouldn’t need new baggage tags; the bags would just arrive on the carousel when he got to baggage claim. As you might guess, they did not. However, we could see that they’d made it to Madrid, so we went over to the customer service counter again. And again, they had no idea where the bags were. They didn’t show that the bags ever left London, but they also didn’t show that the bags were even in London. They truly knew nothing at all.
When I asked them to find the bags, they said they were in a machine where no one could see or access them. They didn’t know when they’d pop up again – they said to expect at least 72 more hours. I was floored. It had already been 24 hours! AND THE BAGS WERE AT THE AIRPORT, RIGHT BY WHERE WE STOOD. It was absurd.
For five days, we went daily to the Iberia customer service counter in the baggage claim area of the Madrid airport. For five days, they told me by phone and in person that the search for our bags was continuing. For five days, we went and purchased new clothes, toiletries, and so forth to get through our daily sightseeing activities and our evening dinner plans (including an elegant New Year’s Eve party). Somewhere in there, they concluded that the team in London had retagged the bags but had not entered the new data in the airline’s tracking system, so no one could offer any timeline to expect the bags’ return. It would take almost six days to get them back.
I don’t want to get bogged down in any more painstaking detail, but let me share what I learned through this process:
1. Very little gets accomplished by phone; the people in call centers have delayed information, at best. You actually have to go in and harass people at the airport.
2. You have to use all available clues to piece together the location of your bags. (We got the numbers off the second bag they located and practically forced the lady at the counter to seek out related numbers.)
3. You cannot take no for an answer when you know your bags are within reach.
Overall, we were fortunate that this bag mishap occurred in Madrid. We’ve spent countless days there, so we didn’t have any sights we were desperate to see. But we certainly didn’t want to spend 4-6 hours of each day fighting to get our luggage back, which is what we had to do.
And as a side note, Iberia’s system still doesn’t show that we’ve gotten our luggage. It shows that the search continues for two of the five bags, and it shows that one other has been located but not confirmed. It is wild that their system is so unreliable. I can promise you that I won’t be flying Iberia again with bags any time soon.
I’m also going to try to modify my overall packing strategy. I’m not going to take clothes or shoes that I absolutely love anymore. In fact, I may buy some super-cool travel items with the idea in mind that I might lose them. Additionally, I’m going to pack a small kit of essentials in my carry-on; I’ll put things like extra contact lenses, face wash, moisturizer, underwear, socks, etc., in there, just to have some tide-me-overs if my luggage gets misplaced again. That won’t see me through multiple days without my gear, but it’ll be a decent start.
