Baggage goes missing after Singapore flight

Calcutta: A Calcuttan who flew to Singapore by Singapore Airlines on May 27 has alleged that her registered luggage had gone missing. She got her one-piece luggage back with a lock broken on June 4, three days after her return to Calcutta.

Amie Bhattacharya, the passenger, said she had lodged a complaint with the airline and sought compensation but was yet to get any response.

The airline told Metro on Saturday that another passenger from the flight had mistakenly collected the baggage at Changi Airport in Singapore.

Bhattacharya said she had to spend 800 Singapore dollar - more than Rs 40,000 - on buying clothes and other items during her six-day stay in Singapore.

"All other members of my team got their luggage at Changi Airport but mine was missing," said Bhattacharya, who teaches at a prominent school in Calcutta.

"I immediately handed a complaint to the lost baggage counter at the airport, got myself a file reference number and was sure the bag would be returned by evening. But relentless follow-ups by mail, over the phone and at the counter proved futile."

Bhattacharya returned to Calcutta on June 1 and got back her luggage with a lock broken three days later. "Thankfully, nothing was missing," she said.

On May 30, Bhattacharya had written to Singapore Airlines detailing the items in her luggage and demanded compensation for her monetory loss as well as the physical and mental agony she had to endure because of the "irresponsibility of the airline".

"On June 11, I had sent the airline another mail, expressing my utter disappointment at not even getting a response. Meanwhile, I had speed-posted all relevant documents with the required claim form, and have been told that it reached the destination on June 11. The speed-post procedure had cost me another Rs 1,300. But the airline is yet to respond," Bhattacharya said.

The alleged lack of response from the airline prompted her to narrate her plight in a post on her Facebook timeline.

A spokesperson for the airline said: "Singapore Airlines delivered the baggage to the passenger on June 4. The baggage was delayed as it was mistakenly collected by another passenger from the same flight. Singapore Airlines is investigating the baggage damage claims with the relevant authorities."