2023-09-02 19:07:12
At the end of summer, airports are under pressure from holiday returns. In Geneva, hundreds of suitcases are currently waiting to be returned to their owners. For various reasons, the average delivery time has dropped from 24 hours to four days.
In the arrivals hall of Genève Aéroport, all you have to do is open your eyes to see it: trolleys filled with lost luggage are piling up. Currently, the handling company Swissport has to manage no less than 600 suitcases that arrived late.
According to Rachid Jouajoua, head of passenger service at Swissport in Geneva, the causes are multiple. “We have to deal with the lack of staff in certain airports, irregularities in air traffic control or those caused by the weather. This is what will cause a delay between the arrival of the passenger and his luggage”, explains- he.
Average time of four days
In addition, the identification work is not always easy for Swissport agents, who sometimes have to play real detectives to find the owners, especially when faced with luggage that does not have labels.
Normally, upon receipt of the suitcase, the company sends it to its owner within 24 hours. But faced with the massive influx of holiday returns, the delivery time has increased to four days on average.
In some extreme cases, the wait may be longer. “It’s been 20 days and I still have no news of my luggage, it is not even located yet”, testifies a traveler on Saturday in the 7:30 p.m.
Baggage “lost” after three weeks
The latter tried to contact her airline by all means, but her efforts were unsuccessful. “The only response I received was an automatic message telling me that unfortunately they are unable to verify my message and that they cannot link it to a file reference”, says she.
After 21 days, his suitcase will be considered lost by the airline. She can then demand compensation. But beyond the financial value, seeing your belongings lost in nature also often takes on a significant emotional charge. “So I’m a little disillusioned,” sighs the young woman.
Guillaume Martinez/jop
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