This U.S. Traveler Flew Back To Europe To Retrieve His Family's Lost Luggage
Lost luggage anyone? It seems to be the trend and the added ‘flavor’ for Summer 2022 travel plans. One U.S. traveler wasn’t buying into the chaos and after his summer in Europe came to an end, made another trip back to the continent, this time to retrieve lost luggage.
Undoubtedly losing luggage while traveling is a nightmare. It is even more frustrating when you know exactly where your luggage is located, but the airlines are still non-responsive. This was the case for Cameron Hopkins who returned to Europe with the sole intent on getting his luggage back home.
The Points Guy reported that weeks after Hopkins and his girlfriend arrived back in the U.S., the lost luggage still was still missing. Seemingly prepared, Hopkins had Apple AirTags in each of the suitcases which showed that the suitcases were somewhere unmoved in the Dusseldorf Airport (DUS) in Germany.
“It’s having an itch you can’t scratch,” he told The Points Guy. “It’s madness.”
The baggage dilemma truly began when Lufthansa canceled their flight from Venice to Poland. Since Hopkins needed to make it to a family gathering, he paid $900 for a new flight with Eurowings. The plan then made a stop (but no plane change) in Dusseldorf. Here it seems the bags were removed from the plane. Hopkins realized this as half the flight seemed to receive their luggage while the other half did not.
Lost Luggage chaos continues
Hopkins shared that the luggage contained items of sentimental value for the family.
After purchasing essential items to get them through the trip in Krakow, filing claims and unsuccessful calls with customer service, Hopkins realized the extent to the luggage misery. The chaos continued even when getting back stateside.
With unsatisfactory response from customer service even though Hopkins could see via the Apple AirTags the exact location, he made a decision. Five days after arriving home, Hopkins was out again. He hopped on a Condor flight headed to Dusseldorf via Frankfurt.
However, because this is Summer 2022, his trip was not without interruption. The second leg of his flight to Dusseldorf was cancelled. Hopkins then purchased a rail ticket on the Deutsche Bahn to Dusseldorf.
Arriving at the airport, attendants directed him to the remote rooms where he searched and eventually located all four of the lost bags. Even while flying back to the U.S. some of the bags were lost in Poland (where Hopkins’ girlfriend has family) but thankfully were found and sent to the U.S.
Related: 8 Tips To Ease The Stress Of Losing Luggage While Flying
