Some 2,000 lost bags still stranded at Vancouver airport, officials say

Flights are mostly back on schedule at the Vancouver International Airport, but the facility is still recovering from the chaos brought on by last month’s holiday snowstorm.

Amid the hundreds of cancellations the week before Christmas, thousands of travellers found themselves delayed or rebooked — and many were separated from their luggage.

As many as 2,000 of those bags are still at the airport waiting to be reunited with their owners, according to airport officials.

Bryan Ottho was among those at the airport reclaiming their luggage on Monday.

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‘Unprecedented’ chaos at Vancouver International Airport

He and companion Xuan Su last saw their bags when they checked them in in Berlin on Dec. 20, but were then forced to make an unplanned four-day stay in Calgary due to weather before catching a standby flight to Vancouver.

“They said oh, we’ll make sure it’s on the flight … apparently they were loaded and then unloaded,” Ottho said.

The duo were forced to buy clothes and essentials, and weren’t able to hand out Christmas gifts on time, he said.

“It’s not acceptable at all. I understand you can’t land at the airport, but I don’t understand how it backs up baggage for like a week — is there not enough spare capacity?” he said.

“We had to buy extra things out of our own pocket and I think we will try to make a claim with Air Canada for clothes and things like that.”

The airport said that since Dec. 28, it has reunited an estimated 1,500 bags with their owners, while airlines have returned about 2,000 more.

YVR said people who are still missing their bags should contact their airlines directly, or come into the airport, where staff can try and help them in person.

It said it expects fully untangling the mess could take several weeks.

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