B.C. man’s search for his luggage ends in Saskatoon

It started off as a simple flight home, but ended up as a police investigation.

Riley Phillips was aboard a Flair Airlines flight in February going from Toronto to Abbotsford. When he landed in the B.C. city, he soon found out his checked bag was on an entirely different plane.

“I’m watching the carousel and it’s going around and around, and fewer and fewer bags are there and then finally it’s empty and my bag’s not there,” Phillips said. “I have an AirTag in my suitcase … so I pulled (the app) up and it was showing as being in Saskatchewan and at first I kind of laughed.”

Phillips said he invested in an AirTag for times like this.

“I put an AirTag in there just (in case) it gets lost,” said Phillips. “You hear these horror stories about ‘the airline lost the luggage.’ ”

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After filling out a lost baggage form, Phillips headed home wondering where his suitcase could be.

“It’s kind of a weird feeling to leave the airport without most of your stuff that you took on the trip,” he said.

Phillips said that it takes a while for an AirTag to be updated and that it requires the signal of an iPhone near it to update.

“When I got home, it was updated,” said Phillips. “It had basically moved from where it originally said it was … once I see that, it’s like, ‘OK, there’s no doubt it’s in Saskatchewan.’ ”

Phillips got on the phone with Saskatoon police and filled out a crime report.

When Phillips woke up, he checked the location of the AirTag again and that’s when he found something interesting.

“I saw it sitting at a residence,” said Phillips.

After sending that information to the police, Phillips received a phone call that evening from the police saying they found his bag.

“They said, ‘Can you please describe some of the items in your bag?’ ” said Phillips. “(The dispatcher) says, ‘OK, so it sounds like the officers have found your suitcase but there is nothing in it,’ and then my heart just kind of sank.”

That wasn’t the last time Phillips received a call from the police, as the officers returned to the house to look around to find his belongings.

“So we FaceTimed,” said Phillips. “(The officer) was pointing at items on the ground and he was like, ‘Is this yours?’ I’m like, ‘No, that’s not mine. Oh, there’s my pajama pants, there’s a pair of socks and there’s my underwear.’ ”

Not everything was retrieved; the big-ticket item missing was a camera, its lens and the camera bag.

Phillips had his camera in his carry-on bag and didn’t want to put it in his suitcase but the airline told him his bag was too big for the overhead bin.

Phillips called this whole situation a big invasion of his privacy.

“It’s my things. They are my clothes,” said Phillips. “You expect when you check a bag into the airport that your possessions are going to make it to your destination.”

Phillips says around 80 per cent of his belongings didn’t make it back to him and the thieves made off with over $1,000 worth of items.

Flair will compensate Phillips for the items that were lost as long as he can provide a receipt of the item.

Phillips was told this is an uncommon occurrence.

“They said that it’s rare but it does happen, so sending (luggage) to the wrong airport apparently does happen more than you think,” said Phillips.

Phillips is also shocked by how unsecure the domestic baggage claim area is.

“Anyone can walk in,” said Phillips. “In this case someone walked in and took a bag, so it’s just weird how that is the most unsecure part of an airport.”

Phillips recommended that more people look into buying an AirTag because you never know when you might need it.

Both the Saskatoon Airport Authority and Flair Airlines have released a statement regarding this incident.

The airport said it was aware of the situation and noted that all baggage handling and care falls onto the shoulders of the airline.

“Although the Airport is not directly responsible for passenger baggage, we have preventative security measures and procedures surrounding unclaimed baggage, including security cameras,” the statement said. “We also provide airlines with secure, locked baggage storage space for unclaimed bags.”

The airport also said this isn’t something the public should be really concerned about when flying.

As for Flair, it says this is the first time an incident like this has been reported.

“Mishandled baggage incidents, while infrequent, have a low probability rate of 0.3,” the statement said. “It is our responsibility to ensure the safe handling of baggage until claimed. This was a very rare (the first of its kind reported at Flair) and unfortunate incident where a piece of luggage was stolen from the carousel before our agent could retrieve it.”