A first vacation in Quebec has become a nightmare for a French couple with no luggage or medication since they arrived in Montreal last week.
• Also read: Chaos at airports: The Canadian Transportation Agency recalls passenger rights
• Also read: Chaos at airports: Air Canada no longer transports animals in the cargo hold
• Also read: Airport Chaos: Here are the 5 main reasons for this predictable chaos
“According to the latest news, they would have sent our luggage back to France before letting us pick it up in Montreal! […] Introduce yourself? We’re starting our holiday, it’s terrible,” says Augustin Le Van, 40, from Toulouse, after taking the time to wipe the tears of his wife, who has degenerative heart disease.
“I’m supposed to take my medication every day,” continues Céline Laurion, visibly weakened. But now I haven’t been able to take them with me for four days since they were in our suitcases. Result: I don’t feel well. I am very very tired. I do not know what to do.”
generalized problem
The latter are among the hundreds—perhaps thousands—of travelers who arrive in Montreal day after day for several weeks without being able to locate their luggage.
Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), manager of Montréal-Trudeau airport, claims not to know the number of lost bags in recent weeks.
“ADM does not keep this type of data because baggage delivery is the responsibility of the airlines,” his spokesman replies, but without denying the problems.
Each story is unique, although the scenarios are similar. After waiting hours in front of the arrival carousels in Montréal-Trudeau, travelers see the obvious: their suitcases didn’t follow them.
Where are they? In which country or on which plane? When will they arrive? Who knows!
“You’re kidding us”
Amidst the chaos, these unlucky ones are finally ushered out of the secure area, where a few yards away, in the middle of a busy hallway, a row of three wall-mounted phones with no chairs or counters awaits them Quiet area receiving international arrivals. So the only help hung over the handset was a list of numbers customers should dial to reach their airline.
Among the horde of travelers who constantly gathered around these phones, on June 23, a young man was returning from Dublin on Air Canada.
Ten days later, after exhausting all other options available to him (calls, emails, paper forms), he returned to the airport again, hoping not to find his suitcase but his… bike!
“There are three phones but only one Air Canada representative on the line to answer everyone’s problems. It’s ridiculous how they don’t care about us,” says the 30-year-old, who is waiting for a handset to become available.
UPS as backup
Coming back to our Toulouse couple, they visited the airport three times in the first four days of their stay in Quebec. Each time they hoped to find their luggage and their precious medicines.
They departed France on the wings of Lufthansa last Friday, stopping in Munich before disembarking in Montreal for the first time.
“I was stupid not to keep her with me. I feel guilty. But what to do now, if only hope?
Yesterday, on the eighth day of their two-week trip, the couple still didn’t have their bags in hand. Will he find her? Nobody knows. They remain without news of their bearer.
Meanwhile, the woman called UPS to try and get her medication urgently. If all goes well, she will get them today and finally be able to fulfill a dream: to see Niagara Falls.
“Because after all, her spouse jokes, we didn’t come to Montreal just to see the airport!”
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?