PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Dozens of American Airlines passengers say they had to wait hours for their bags after landing at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday night. Many never got their bags.
Passengers traveling from Seattle and Washington told CBS News Philadelphia that they were initially told there were not enough crew members to land at their plane, forcing the plane to taxi back and forth for about 25 minutes before it could park at the gate.
Once passengers got off the plane, they had to wait for hours for their luggage to arrive at Terminal C, according to passenger Roy Gettle.
“There were people waiting four hours for their bags,” he said. “They say that’s how it is. They won’t tell us why or what’s going on. But then you get a flight that comes in and they get their bags right away. So I have no idea what’s going on.”
“We just want to grab our bags and go home,” said another passenger, Dennis Markopoulos, Saturday night. “We’ve been here now, it looks like we’ve been here for about two and a half, three hours. And not a word.”
CBS Philadelphia
Some travelers said their bags never arrived. When American Airlines offered to ship them home, they learned they lived outside of a 150-mile radius of the shipment.
“It’s hard to get answers,” said Tommy Morello, who lives in Tacoma, Washington, and traveled to Philadelphia to visit family. “Apparently they’re sending our bags to us, but I feel more comfortable just waiting for them,” he said.
More than 100 unclaimed bags were still piled up in Terminal C Sunday morning. According to an American Airlines baggage claim agent at the airport, there were not enough workers to unload three flights of valuable luggage that arrived Saturday night. PHL Airport says airlines are to blame for the baggage problems.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to Philadelphia International Airport and American Airlines for more information and is trying to confirm whether the luggage belongs to passengers who were unable to claim their bags last night.
