Polish tourist’s luggage disappeared en route to Africa. “They did nothing for a month”

Delays in the delivery of luggage or its loss at airports are not uncommon, especially during transfers. This is a significant stress and problem for tourists, and also generates costs, especially when personal items are needed abroad.

“The air carrier is liable for the baggage from the moment it is handed over to the airline until it is collected from the baggage belt. The upper limit of the carrier’s liability is approximately PLN 6,000” – we read in the leaflet of the Civil Aviation Authority. But what if the passenger, despite various actions, cannot determine which carrier is responsible for the loss of the baggage?

Luggage lost en route to Botswana

This was the case for our reader, who was flying with stopovers from Poland to Africa. He had been planning his dream trip to Botswana for a long time. He wanted to spend 10 days in the picturesque Okavango Delta, the world’s largest inland river delta.

– I bought the tickets at eSky.pl – I flew on July 19, 2024 from Warsaw to Vienna with Lufthansa Airlines, from Vienna to Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia), and from Addis to Gaborone, the capital of Botswana – the last two legs on board Ethiopian Airlines. I was taken to Africa by luxurious Boeing 737s, and the journey took 20 hours – the reader begins.

Mr. Dariusz’s luggage was checked in Warsaw to the destination airport, in Gaborone. There was an unpleasant surprise there: there was no luggage.

– I noticed it because the belt was empty after about 30 minutes. Before leaving the restricted area, I submitted a PIR document confirming that the baggage was lost (Property Discrepancy Report, in the photo. The document is necessary to claim your rights – ed.). Logically, it would seem that in the event of lost baggage, such a document should be automatically forwarded by the airport staff to the airline, but this is not the case – he explains.

Mr. Dariusz waited in Gaborone for a few more days for the luggage to arrive, but it didn’t. The 10-day trip was cut in half, and all clothes and cosmetics had to be paid for on the spot.

In Poland, the reader took further steps. At Chopin Airport, he went to the baggage handling point.

Lost suitcase. Which airline is responsible?

– LOT employees are not a party to this case, but they did me a favor and checked the barcode I received upon departure. They said that the lost luggage was in Vienna. I listened with disbelief… – says Mr. Dariusz.

Then things got tricky. After contacting the Lufthansa hotline, an employee gave the passenger a link to report lost baggage online. The problem was that the fact of lost baggage could only be reported up to 7 days back, providing detailed flight information. That deadline had passed.

The reader notes that at the airport in Botswana no one suggested contacting the first carrier, and that telephone coverage outside the city and access to the network in this African country are very poor. Internet problems occur even at the airport.

The link no longer worked, and Mr. Dariusz could not get Lufthansa to provide his…email address. He received it only after sending questions to the airline via “Gazeta Wyborcza”. Lufthansa finally informed that Austrian Airlines was responsible for the baggage and was supposed to provide the airline with the flight data (the Austrian carrier belongs to the Lufthansa airline group – ed.). After 1.5 weeks, the reader has not received a response from Austrian Airlines.

Quick response to the email “Wprost”. Austrian Airlines points to the responsible party

On Friday afternoon, August 23, we sent an email to Austrian Airlines asking about this. The response from the communication department in Vienna came very quickly on Sunday. The carrier’s representative Barbara Greul informed us that Ethiopian Airlines was responsible for the baggage.

“Ethiopian Airliens in Gaborone obviously received the suitcase, because according to our information, the baggage search was completed on July 22 at 18:53 GMT, and the details concerning it also indicate July 22. Therefore, I assume that the passenger received his luggage in the meantime,” we read in the email sent to us. Interestingly, Mr. Dariusz did not receive this information before we wrote to the airline.

However, it works on its own.

“They haven’t done anything about it for a month”

Even before the editorial office of “Wprost” received the above email, he contacted the Polish representative office of Ethiopian Airlines. As he says, he feels “dumped” by the employees. “On July 30, 2024, I sent all my travel documents to Ms. Agnieszka Musielak Ulaszewska (representative of Ethiopian Airlines) with a request for help in recovering my luggage. Unfortunately, they did nothing in this matter for a month,” he comments.

Following Austrian Airlines’ response, we contacted the Polish representative office of the Ethiopian airline. They assured us that they had taken action.

“We are the General Sales Agent of Ethiopian Airlines, we represent the airline on the Polish market, among others, but we are not the carrier’s own office. The passenger contacted us (also today) and we are trying to help resolve this situation. However, please direct any inquiries for comment on this matter to the Ethiopian Airlines hotline,” Agnieszka Musielak Ulaszewska, Sales Manager Poland Ethiopian Airlines, replied to us. When we asked for the number, we were told to call the hotline in Addis Ababa.

In addition to LOT employees, the European Consumer Centre was helpful in this matter, responding to the passenger’s report after 2-3 days and asking for documents to be sent, including the PIR. As you might imagine, none of the carriers suggested contacting this office. It can determine who is responsible for the loss of luggage, although it does not guarantee that it will be successful. The reader says that the eSky platform also tried to achieve something by contacting both airlines.

A lawyer on disputes with carriers

We asked attorney Sonia Konieczniak, who represents clients in disputes with air carriers, for a comment on this case.

“Customers usually contact me at the stage of the complaint procedure – either they do not receive a response from the carrier at all, which happens often, or they need help in determining where their luggage is. Due to the presumption that after 21 days the luggage is missing, carriers often consider the complaint closed, although they are still liable for compensation. It also happens that airlines prolong the procedure, e.g. by requesting documents that are unnecessary for the resolution or those that the passenger no longer has due to the passage of time,” says the attorney.

The lawyer adds that before filing a lawsuit, one must realistically assess how much money is worth fighting for in court, because it is the client’s responsibility to prove the value of the items on the day they went missing.

– It happens that carriers offer compensation amounts for lost luggage, but often, according to passengers, this offer does not reflect the real value of the lost items. Often, these are 20 kg suitcases with everyday items for many days of vacation – he adds.

The lawyer also gives advice to the readers of “Wprost”.

– The amount of compensation is limited by the Montreal Convention, so it is worth placing more valuable items in your hand luggage. It is also worth immediately preparing a list of items in your luggage, along with an indication of their value. Such a document will be the basis for determining the amount of claims – he says.