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Where luggage goes to die

ELLEN HIMELFARB

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 2:46 AM EDT 19/05/08

Ever wonder where all those lost suitcases end up? Ellen Himelfarb traces Heathrow MIAs to a Dickensian-sounding auction house in London and finds the bidders circling ...Read the full article

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  1. Mr. Coffee from Victoria, Canada writes: 42.4 MILLION LOST BAGS!!????!!! Holy Crap!

    I think that warehouse in London also has 1 billion lost odd socks from our driers, 10 billion pens, and a trillion worthless pennies picked up by airport cleaning staff.

    Pack light people. This is what happens to people who overpack.
  2. Mr. Coffee from Victoria, Canada writes: Error on my part in the last posting. 1 trillion pennies is $10 billion. No way that'll happen.
  3. Imperial K from Toronto, Canada writes: Well I don't think insiders at the airport shoudl pick the electronics out first, then auction off crap.

    They should donate the whole shabang.
  4. dave ross from Canada writes: I think that Greasby's a perfrectly apt name for this type of auction. It conjures images of Dickens - most notably the scene in A Christmas Carol when Scrooge's old housekeeper is picking through his clothes after his death.
  5. Remain Nameless from Canada writes:
    "Two knit scarves and a pair of black leather gloves"??? Hey, that's my bag! Give it back, you!
  6. Gordon Murray from Canada writes: City buses often collect enough for semi-annual lost and found clearances (Saturdays usually). Perhaps calling Lost and Found of the bus company results in the day's listing to be found somewhere. There's umbrellas mostly, left on seats, the rain possibly having sunk to such levels that spirits aren't dampened until the discovery of the forgetting, or the remembering of the forgetting, or that 'something not there' feeling, 'not all there today, are we?' otherwise umbrella filled elevator, sort of 'brings it home' that semi-annually one might fetch a left behind (or reasonable facsimile). If getting there really early, perhaps first of the rush of people looking for bargains, one might sacrifice that 'dibs' of sorts and with video camera survey the lot. Perhaps with a tip to staff, it's a cause of some sort, prior opening one might capture what was there to start with. Maybe a sneaky volunteer 'cases the joint'.
  7. Rollo Tomasi from Belgium writes: Or if you live in Ottawa, bid on any of the lots from the Lost & Found from Canada Day. For $20 I got enough Swiss Army knives to last my family a lifetime, and then some. I also got a large chunk of hashish--the things people forget.
  8. More or Less from Canada writes: Agree with Dave Ross! That people have given up is no surprise--have you ever lost luggage and gone through the process to make a claim? The airlines and airport authorities don't even care: give you a hundred bucks and shoo you away. And heaven forbid you don't make a claim before leaving the airport! Just try and get your luggage back.
  9. isabel ydancer from prince rupert bc, Canada writes: After you leave Amsterdam, you better check on your luggage at Heathrow, mmmy Mmmichael! Good luck with that. Ik hou van jou, mmmy love!!!
  10. Newmarket NDPer from Taipei, Taiwan writes: This is all really disgusting! It's a form of air piracy. Yeah, mayber the tags were torn off, but the airline or handling agency should assure the traveler that EVERYTHING POSSIBLE has been done to locate the owner of lost bags. That just not being done.
    Before any bag or case is passed on for auction or donation they should be opened and have their contents checked for ID or possible ownership by a non-partisan team of experts who search for such things as letters, name cards, and other leads.
    Also note that in many cases luggage is deliberately "lost" by those who run the airport. Once during my deportation after the TianAnMen incident I encountered such a problem on a China Southern Air flight. I made it to Bangkok, but my cases (packed full of interview notes, records, official press certificates, photos, name cards, and other material never made it.
    Those who represent us in international travel must speak up for the rights of the traveler.

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