The couple flew from Heathrow Airport to Sydney on Saturday morning but still waited for the bag to arrive four days later.
The Director of Women’s Community Shelters and NSW Chair of Domestic Violence, Annabelle Daniel, expressed her frustration on Twitter after she and her partner had not heard from the airline.
“Hey @Qantas, my partner’s bag is four days late from QF2 on Saturday morning,” she tweeted Wednesday evening.
‘It contains her mother’s ashes. She could not see her mother before she died or attend the funeral in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“No responses from your website. Can you help more, please?”
In subsequent replies to other shocked Twitter users, Ms. Daniel explained how deeply affected her partner was by this “horror show” of a situation.
“My partner was so close to her mother and was devastated that she couldn’t travel to be with her when she died. Watching your mother’s funeral on Zoom is heartbreaking enough, let alone this,” she wrote.
“She’s not the person who gets worked up, but this again exacerbates the grief.
“She’s quite non-functional with distress. I sincerely hope this is sorted out.
“She’s so anxious, and this has just been a horror show.”
In response, Qantas’ Twitter account said it was “sorry to hear what happened” and asked Ms. Daniel to send them the luggage file reference and passenger name so they could look into it.
In a statement to NCA NewsWire, an airline spokesperson apologized for the “extremely dire situation” and said the bag was sent to the woman on Thursday.
“We understand that this is an extremely dire situation for this customer, and we apologize for the delay in getting their bags,” said a Qantas spokesperson.
“The bag is going to the customer today (Thursday).
“We have been in touch with the family and have provided updates on the bag’s location.
“Heathrow Airport has recently had a lot of publicity about baggage issues, leading to tens of thousands of lost bags.”
Camera icon The bag with the ashes in it will be sent to the woman on Thursday. NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: News Corp Australia
The situation has been met with anger and empathy from other Twitter users who were stunned by what had happened.
“Disgusting treatment of your partner and so disrespectful of @Qantas,” said one.
‘Oh my god, that’s terrible. I hope they find the luggage and return it safely. My condolences to your partner,” said another.
“So sad to hear your news. Our bags are seven days late from LHR on QF0002; talking to anyone at QANTAS is a complete farce with hours on hold.”
It comes after Qantas CEO Alan Joyce admitted they are “not providing the service we would expect to do”.
Australia’s airports have been marred by repeated issues with canceled/delayed flights, long lines, and lost luggage, something Mr. Joyce attributed to the impact of the restart after Covid.
“It is a process of restarting the airline industry that has been grounded for two years, and there are resource constraints across the supply chain from airports, airlines, catering for manufacturers, and supply parts,” Joyce told 6PR on Wednesday.
“That’s no excuse for a customer who doesn’t have their bags with them, who doesn’t get their flight on time; we recognize that. And we are investing a huge amount of resources to make sure it gets better as soon as possible.”
Joyce also said in another interview that 18,000 bags were stranded at Heathrow Airport on Saturday.
