Nearly two weeks after a snow and ice storm hit B.C.’s south coast, the Vancouver International Airport is still dealing with the fallout.
As of Tuesday (Jan. 3), it said it’s housing around 1,500 pieces of stranded luggage. That number is constantly fluctuating, though, as bags arrive from other airports and airlines deal with returning them, YVR communications manager Alyssa Smith said in an operational update. It’s an improvement from the around 2,500 bags YVR was dealing with at the end of December, however.
Smith said YVR is working with airlines to get people’s belongings back to them, but that they anticipate it will take them some time to get everything sorted. She recommended passengers who are waiting on missing luggage start a claim with their airline.
Both the Vancouver International Airport and Toronto Pearson experienced extreme baggage backlogs in the last week of December when an onslaught of winter weather collided with people’s holiday travel plans. At the time, passengers reported being stranded in the airports for hours or days and, when they finally made it to their destinations, many were left without their luggage.
In Canada, airlines can be held liable for baggage that is delayed or damaged up to about $2,300, according to the Canadian Transportation Agency. Claims must be made within 21 days for lost bags and seven days for damaged ones.
READ ALSO: ‘Scary’: B.C. mom left ‘abandoned’ in airport with toddler and no luggage
