Undelivered luggage

The article Air Malta in European Survey: Many Delays But Few Lost Suitcases (August 6) was quite entertaining. It referred to a recent Association of European Airlines' report covering April-June 2005. Had it included July, AEA's statistics might perhaps have been different when it comes to lost luggage.

You see, my wife and I took a holiday with a local tour operator on Air Malta to Dublin. Going there, the baggage of all Maltese travellers to Dublin was taken down by mistake by the luggage handlers in Cork. It was only 63 hours after arrival in Dublin that we received our luggage. In the meantime, we passed through the traumatic experience of having to be without our personal belongings for three whole days.

The tour leader did his utmost to bring all the bags from the airport but he had a very cold reception when it came to "discussing" the matter with Service Air (who are apparently Air Malta's agents in Ireland). I even went back to the airport on July 17 with the tour leader to try to discuss the matter in person with Service Air, but the latter refused us.

The way I understood the problem was one of incompetence (please let me restrain myself from screaming "irresponsibility") in delivering our delayed luggage after a reasonable time: 63 hours after arrival is definitely not a "reasonable time"! So much for having "a good baggage delivery service"!

Apart from three days of emotional, psychological, and physical hardship that spoiled part of our holiday, we spent part of our allowance on a change of clothes, underwear, toileteries, etc. Service Air, on the phone, told us that Air Malta would compensate - such was their attitude. Anyway, words cannot describe the anguish we had to go through till July18 at 5 p.m. I hugged and kissed my luggage.

I thought of registering the experience of 33 passengers and comment that if Air Malta has "one of the best records for lost luggage" its agent Service Air is definitely not helping in the delivery service.