Couple tracks suitcases with Airtag – the airline had already donated it

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Couple tracks lost suitcase for months using Airtag – the airline had already donated it

A couple from Canada chased their luggage for four months after their honeymoon, even the police couldn’t help. It ended up turning up with an unexpected new owner.

Losing your suitcase can quickly ruin your vacation. So it’s no wonder that more and more travelers have been adding a tracker to their luggage in recent years. A newlywed couple had to learn the hard way that even the smart chips in their suitcases wouldn’t help if the airline blocked them.

Nakita Rees and Tom Wilson were returning from their honeymoon when they were changing trains in Quebec and found out they would have to recheck their luggage. When they landed in Toronto, they waited in vain for one of the suitcases. When they checked the Apple Airtag with which they had secured it, the certainty came: It was still at the transfer point. And should remain so for a while.

lost

The two repeatedly documented on Tiktok how they located their luggage and pointed out the exact location of their suitcase to the airline Air Canada. And nothing happened. At some point things suddenly got moving. The suitcase appeared near Toronto, where it was apparently taken to a warehouse. “Then he was there. A month, two months, three months,” Rees complains in one of the clips. Incidentally, the suitcase had not flown: the owners had documented its journey across the streets.

But even though the two knew the exact location, that didn’t help them much. When they dared to visit the hall on site, they were turned away. Confronting an airline manager at the airport with the location didn’t help either: he simply claimed to have never heard of the warehouse, Rees told the “Insider”.

Ticked off by the airline

However, the airline considered the case closed anyway. She had already marked the suitcase as lost. The trip took place at a time “when all airlines in Canada were still recovering from the disruptions caused by Covid,” an airline spokesman told CBC. The couple received compensation of 2,300 Canadian dollars. This is the maximum amount that can be paid out for lost baggage.

But that wasn’t enough for the two. And not just because the lump sum only covered about a third of the actual loss. “This baggage is ours. You deserve to get it back.”

The grand finale

Rees and Wilson called the police. However, an opening of the warehouse by the officials did not bring the longed-for solution to the puzzle. Although “walls upon walls of luggage” were found, the couple’s suitcase was not included. But the police were able to find out why the suitcase had ended up in the hall, at least temporarily: the airline had donated the suitcase to a charity – and they owned the hall. But nobody could tell them which organization was behind it.

After months of waiting, redemption finally came: The airline assigned them a personal clerk to track down the suitcase, the couple reported to Tiktok. And indeed: less than 48 hours later the suitcase was back in front of the front door. “They had to search through 1,200 suitcases. They finally found him after almost 24 hours,” reports Wilson.

In fact, all their belongings were still in the suitcase – including a bottle of wine. The airline gave them some of the blame, Reese reports to the “Insider”. The airline could not find any clues in the suitcase as to who the luggage belonged to. The tracker attached to the outside hadn’t helped: it had apparently been accidentally torn off.

Good advice for travelers

The fact that they have their suitcase back is only thanks to the great publicity, the two believe. During the month-long search, the press had repeatedly reported on the case. Some of the Tiktok clips collected more than a million views. “They only helped us because we had so much attention,” says Rees. “And that’s pretty sad.” For other customers, she has a clear piece of advice: “Always pack several options in and on the suitcase to identify yourself as the owner,” she said “CBC”.

But they still celebrate their reunion with the suitcase. In a Tiktok video, they offer themselves to Apple as advertising faces for the Airtag. In another, Rees dances through the filter-superimposed image, singing in typical Tiktok fashion, and finally cuddles her suitcase. The accompanying song: “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home”.

Sources:tiktok, CBC, insider