A woman who flew into Vancouver for the holidays says she was shocked to find two Christmas gifts missing from her checked luggage.
Judy Ryan told CTV News she boarded an Alaska Airlines flight from California over the weekend to come visit her daughter Jayme Lepp.
The flight was pleasant, but when Ryan started unpacking her bag she noticed some of her clothes were wet.
“I thought, that’s interesting – I had no liquids in my luggage,” Ryan said.
Then she realized she had an even bigger problem: two gifts for her daughter were gone.
Ryan said she was first confused, then disappointed, and a call to the Alaska Airlines customer service didn’t help.
“They said, basically, that they don’t cover gifts,” Ryan said. “I got on the plane with those items and I got off the plane without those items, so someone has to be accountable.”
Eventually the company agreed to send them a cheque, after Ryan and Lepp told staff they’d contacted CTV News to share their story.
The family said they're being reimbursed for the entire cost of the presents, plus an extra $25.
“I sent them a message saying, look, this is what happened, my mom is really disappointed in this and I hope you guys can rectify this situation,” Lepp said.
The airline told CTV News it’s conducting an internal investigation, and that it normally reimburses passengers if it determines a theft has occurred.
Staff also will typically file a police report, it added.
Alaska Airlines said it takes the protection of checked baggage seriously, but recommends passengers not check valuables such as jewelry, cameras, cash, computers and other high-priced items.
That’s advice Ryan said she’ll be heeding from now on.
“The thought never crossed my mind that somebody would open my luggage and take something,” she said.
There are also luggage locks passengers can buy that are approved by transportation authorities, but they’re not fool-proof.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s St. John Alexander
