Summary
- A checked bag on an American Airlines flight was sent to a homeless encampment in Los Angeles.
- Valuables like medicine and jewelry were reportedly stolen from the misplaced luggage.
- The airline is investigating the incident and is working with police and the affected passenger.
American Airlines is investigating after a checked bag that belonged to a passenger onboard a flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) last month was discovered in a homeless encampment. Following flight complications, confusion ensued, leading the airline to send the wrong bag to the passenger’s home.
It is believed that the luggage piece was initially a carry-on bag, but needed to be checked at the gate. Nonetheless, several valuables inside the bag, such as medicine and jewelry, were reportedly stolen at the encampment.
“I don’t even want my stuff back”
According to independent Los Angeles local news station KTLA, Aunny Grace traveled to BUR on May 29th. Data from FlightAware shows that Grace’s flight, AA2597, was scheduled to depart at 19:17, but it was canceled. As a result, she spent the night at DFW and took a different flight to BUR. Her luggage, however, was not on that flight.
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About five days later, American sent the wrong bag to Grace’s home, according to the Los Angeles Times. At that point, she tracked her luggage using the Apple AirTag inside and found that it was at a homeless encampment near Los Angeles.
Photo: Raleigh–Durham International Airport
In an interview, Grace described her experience going to the encampment to retrieve her belongings.
“When I arrived, my bag had slowly made its way down to Santa Monica and Western and that is when I found my stuff, not my suitcase, but particles of my stuff in a homeless man’s shopping cart. You kind of get to a point where you’re looking around the encampment and think, ‘I don’t even want my stuff back.’ I had toiletry bags that were dumped upside down. I had makeup bags. All the makeup was gone.”
Paying to retrieve the bag
Grace also reportedly had other bags, medicine, and jewelry purchased from Bali inside the luggage, but they were stolen. Interestingly, her bag did not appear to be the only piece of luggage at the encampment, as she noticed “dozens” of other suitcases with American’s tags on them.
“That day I saw dozens of suitcases, brand new suitcases, name-brand suitcases strewn across Western and Sunset,” Grace said, according to KTLA. “Rows and rows of suitcases, bicycles, baby strollers with airline tags on them everywhere.”
Grace and her friend, who went with her to find the lost bag, subsequently paid off a homeless man to retrieve her belongings. The passenger also told KTLA that she was shown pictures of how American sets out delayed bags for pick up at BUR. The protocol reportedly involves suitcases being placed in an office, while the remaining bags are “just outside,” where anyone could access them.
Photo: Unaccompanied Media | Shutterstock
Simple Flying contacted American for comment regarding the matter. In a statement on Friday, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed that an investigation is underway.
“We strive to ensure that our customers’ checked luggage and other items arrive at their destinations on schedule and in their original condition. We are investigating what occurred here and while that continues, our team has reached out to the customer to apologize and compensate her for the bag and its contents.”
Carry-on bag or checked bag?
Grace also filed a police report regarding the situation. She maintained that American should be held responsible for losing her bag.
“I don’t put this on the homeless people, I put this on the airlines,” Grace explained. “American Airlines is responsible for my bag that they practically enforce you to check at the gate…and this is on them…”
It is unclear whether Grace originally planned to travel with the suitcase as a checked bag or a carry-on bag. However, her comments suggest the latter. Airlines will indeed require passengers to check their carry-on bags if all overhead bin space is full, or if the bag does not meet size requirements.
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