Travelers that endured weather related air-travel chaos over the last week are dealing with the lasting headache of trying to get their lost luggage from John F Kennedy International Airport.
Hundreds of bags have been left under ramps at the airport’s Terminal 4, sitting in snow, and hidden from view so passengers can’t see the piles of personal effects, according to an investigation by NBC4.
The investigation cites airport sources that say they were instructed by Port Authority managers to remove the piled up luggage and place them under the ramps so passengers wouldn’t see them.
Hundreds of lost bags are being piled up under ramps in snow after a week of weather related travel chaos at JFK
The luggage, that still remains to be reunited with its owners, has sat in the snow under ramps so passengers won’t see it
The travel chaos began with a blizzard that hit Thursday, followed by several more events that ensnared travel through the weekend
A blizzard on Thursday, followed by freezing weekend temperatures, two planes that clipped wings Saturday and a massive pipe burst Sunday, compounded the chaos at the privately owned terminal.
According to a statement by Port Authority- they directed airlines to promptly return baggage to those who were traveling during the events that saw flights postponed and cancelled.
‘We continue to push the airlines to aggressively address the situation as quickly as possible and are providing assistance as needed. In some cases, newly arriving bags are being temporarily stored in work areas for processing and delivery to passengers.’
Travelers have been left in the lurch-unable to track down their belongings which either never met them at their destination, or the whereabouts of which still remained unknown Tuesday.
One couple, who were headed to Paris with a layover at JFK from Detroit on Sunday when the pipe burst, said they made it to their destination- but their airline doesn’t know where their luggage is.
Another couple, Jeff Loria and Amy Litchenfeld, was faced with a particularly upsetting situation, when their flight to Colombia was cancelled and they ended up not going on their trip, yet their bags made it to Bogota without them.
‘It’s complete frustration at this point,’ said Loria.
The Port Authority did confirm that some luggage had been moved to work areas while they figure out next steps
Frustrated travelers were told by airlines that they didn’t know where their luggage was, or that it would take two weeks to reunite them with it
And yet another traveler whose flight was impacted by the burst pipe, Rosemary Owuo, said she was told she wouldn’t be reunited with her luggage for two weeks.
‘I couldn’t wait two weeks,’ she said. ‘There are important things in the bags.’
Port Authority’s Executive Director Rick Cotton said yesterday that he directed airlines and terminal operators to ‘immediately expedite return luggage to passengers,’ and that international airlines with travelers in New York City should have luggage on the way to them by the end of Tuesday.
‘It just seems like there’s very little effort taking the bags back,’ said Loria. ‘No one is taking responsibility for them not being back at this point.’