While you want to return from an overseas holiday feeling refreshed and recharged, these days, the one thing on travellers’ minds is likely to be whether their bags have made it.
Suitcases have been piling up at Auckland Airport in recent months, as the travel industry struggles to deal with a perfect storm of staffing shortages and flight disruptions.
Many travellers have taken matters into their own hands, using baggage trackers like AirTags to keep tabs on their bags.
But one traveller, Ben Fredrickson, was reunited with his lost bag after spotting it in a photo shared in a Stuff article. And that gave us an idea.
READ MORE:
* Bagmageddon: Why Kiwi travellers’ luggage is particularly likely to get lost
* Missing bag travelled the world, only to be stolen from front doorstep
* Baggage woes: ‘We may never be reunited with our luggage again’
What if we asked you, Stuff readers, to send in photos of all the suitcases you can see when making your way through the baggage hall at Auckland Airport?
Megan Eaves / Ben Fredrickson/Supplied
The photo that solved the mystery of Ben Fredrickson’s lost bag, taken by travel writer Megan Eaves.
We’ll publish those photos, so if someone has lost their luggage, they can zoom in to see if they too can spot their suitcases. Think of us as a low-tech baggage tracker.
It’s important to note you’ll still need to work with your airline when it comes to collecting your bags. But at least you’ll know where they are – and that they didn’t just disappear into that mysterious abyss behind the conveyor belt when you checked in.
Want to help? If you’re arriving at Auckland Airport anytime soon, send in your photos of the bag situation to newstips@stuff.co.nz. Let us know the date and time they were taken.
And if you’ve lost your luggage, with a bit of luck, you’ll be able to spot your suitcase on Stuff.
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