Fliers in shock as baggage goes missing

Around 50 passengers of SpiceJet flight SG 14 that landed in Mumbai airport from Dubai on Tuesday morning were in for a shock after they found that their respective baggage was missing.

When the affected passengers started creating a ruckus at the airport terminal, airline officials informed them that their luggage had not been loaded at Dubai as they had exceeded the weight limit. The passengers were told that they would get their bags on the next flight from Dubai.

Confirming this, an official from Mumbai airport informed The Asian Age that SpiceJet flight SG 14 landed at Mumbai airport around 9 am on Tuesday after departing from Dubai around 4 am with around 220 passengers. Later, when around 50 passengers went to the baggage carousel, they realised that their baggage was missing.

Pawan Gentual, an LIC agent by profession and a passenger of the said flight, said his bag, which contained an iPhone was missing and when he approached the ground staff, they told him that the baggage would arrive on Wednesday. Mr Gentaul, who hails from Solapur, was planning to proceed there but said he has now been forced to stay at a relative’s place in Pune to come back to Mumbai again on Wednesday.

Commenting on the incident, SpiceJet’s spokesperson said, “The baggage for this flight will be connected on the next available flight. Once it reaches the Mumbai airport the baggage will be delivered at the passenger’s doorstep.” Rejecting the claims of the airline, another passenger Ramesh Pal alleged, “Their ground staff gave us a form to fill and told to mention the details of our belonging, which is missing, and asked us to visit the airport again.” According to Mr Pal, a total of 163 bags were missing at the Mumbai airport.

The SpiceJet spokesperson said that the baggage had been off loaded from the flight. “Keeping the payload (weight) factor in mind, a decision was taken to offload the baggage of the passengers,” he said. Talking about the role of payload, he said it is an universal phenomenon that is considered from a safety point of view. “Due to the increase in temperature and additional fuel required at Mumbai airport, keeping the congestion in view, extra fuel was uplifted, which further limits payload,” he added.