Woman’s dream £8,000 break is ruined after BA sends her baggage to wrong airport

A woman’s dream £8,000 holiday to celebrate her 60th birthday has been ruined after British Airways lost her luggage.

Susan Dempster and her friend Hilda McDougall, both from Glasgow, landed at Heathrow Airport to be told by BA staff their connecting flight to Glasgow had been cancelled.

The friends were offered an alternative flight from London City to Edinburgh and told their luggage would be flown to Glasgow – their final destination.

But after arriving at Edinburgh, the pair were told by staff they were unable to locate their suitcases – and two weeks later the luggage is still missing.

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Susan Dempster (left) and her friend Hilda McDougall (right), from Glasgow, were told their luggage could not be located after their flight from London City to Edinburgh

Mrs Dempster has made countless phones calls to BA and has received an email from customer services stating that her inquiry will be handled within 35 days. 

When Mrs Dempster told one phone operator that the trackers in the suitcases showed they were still at the airport, he suggested she travel 326 miles from her home to collect them. 

Desperate Mrs Dempster said: ‘All I want is for my luggage to be home for Christmas.

‘I would have sent a letter to Santa but it wouldn’t have got there in time because the posties are on strike!

‘I really don’t know what to do. I’ve tried to fill in the online lost luggage form but it will only accept my flight details from London City.

‘We were told to complete the lost luggage form when we arrived at Edinburgh but now have been told we should have done that at Gatwick.

‘It is a complete shambles. British Airways customer service is appalling and my stress levels are going through the roof.

‘The stress is making me ill and I cannot sleep.’

Mrs Dempster and Ms McDougall flew from Changi to Heathrow Airport on 12 December following a three-week holiday cruise around New Zealand, then visiting Australia and Singapore. 

But their connecting flight from Heathrow to Glasgow was cancelled due to the snow.

Susan said: ‘We’d had a wonderful time, but this has totally spoiled it.

‘This was for my 60th birthday and was meant to be a bucket list holiday of a lifetime.

‘We are executive club members and have flown with BA many times.

‘We just want our luggage back. It isn’t too much to ask but we are getting nowhere fast.’

Mrs Dempster has emailed the company’s CEO but still has not been reunited with her luggage.

She added: ‘We could see from the trackers the cases were still at the airport but staff there said they couldn’t find them. We just don’t know what to do.’

The suitcases have since been moved to Polar Park – on the outskirts of the airport.

‘I phoned all the offices and business on the park but no one has our cases,’ Mrs Dempster said.

‘I don’t know why they have been moved there. It could be where lost property is stored or they could be stored there before being sold off. Who knows?

‘It is all very upsetting.’

A spokesman for British Airways said: ‘We’re doing everything we can to reunite our customers with their delayed baggage as soon as possible. We apologise for the delay and inconvenience caused.’