Close to 2,500 bags sit unclaimed behind a newly built enclosure on Vancouver airport’s YVR second floor.
Tanczos’ luggage, which held her 14-year-old daughter’s insulin and her husband’s sleep apnea machine, was nowhere to be found.
“It was complete chaos. I witnessed a parent crying, saying their children have no clothes,” according to the 49-year-old, who says she was told by the baggage attendant the whereabouts of her family’s luggage was unknown.
While returning to the airport a few times during her holiday vacation proved successful for Tanczos, who located her suitcases on Monday, she has concerns for other passengers still searching for theirs.
YVR spokesperson Alyssa Smith said the airport put up temporary walls on Dec. 22 to offer storage space to airlines, which are in charge of caring for the baggage from each of their flights.
“Airlines had security in place and additional staff, but have since increased those security measures,” Smith told Postmedia on Thursday.
Passengers seeking to retrieve their luggage must confirm their identity with airline workers before they are escorted into the overflow enclosure.
“We are suggesting passengers in this situation start a claim with their airline,” Smith said in an email. “The airline will provide details on when and where they can pick up their bags at the airport or will make arrangements to send bags to you.”
Brooklyn composer Darcy James Argue took things into his own hands this week after submitting a lost baggage claim with Air Canada that received no immediate response.
The 47-year-old, who landed at the airport on a delayed flight on Dec. 22, resorted to opening the “Find My” application on his phone to pinpoint the location of an Apple AirTag in his luggage.
While Air Canada’s digital tracking system, WorldTracer, offered no indication as to Argue’s luggage location, his personal tracking device confirmed the bags were at YVR.
On Wednesday, airport staff escorted him into the overflow baggage claim areas where he found his luggage, which contained Christmas gifts he had meant to give to his parents in Vancouver.
