Unclaimed checked bags are shown at the Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday Jan. 3, 2023. About 1,500 checked bags remain unclaimed at Vancouver International Airport after winter storms wrecked havoc on holiday travel last month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brenna Owen
RICHMOND, B.C. – About 1,500 checked bags remain unclaimed at Vancouver International Airport after winter storms wrecked havoc on holiday travel last month.
Robyn Fant says her family recovered their final lost bag today, just in time for the flight home to North Carolina after an annual ski trip to Whistler, B.C.
Walking through the airport, Fant says she, her husband and three sons had checked eight bags for their Air Canada flight and arrived in Vancouver on Christmas Day, but the bags with all of their ski gear went missing for the next four days.
She says it cost the family “thousands of dollars” because they had to rent their ski gear and buy clothing, including winter boots, gloves, a ski jacket and pants.
The family found the last bag in a partitioned-off area full of unclaimed luggage belonging to people who were flying with Air Canada.
A statement from the airport says the number of unclaimed bags is fluctuating as luggage arrives, is picked up or is sent for delivery to the owners.
“While we anticipate it will take us and our airline partners more time to complete this reunification process, steady progress is being made,” it says in a statement.
There’s a 99 per cent success rate for baggage leaving Vancouver’s airport, it adds, meaning nearly all checked luggage is processed and leaves the airport on time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2023.
