‘It’s mostly violating’: Passengers on Cancun-Halifax flight say items missing from luggage

When Drew Glase went to Cancun for her friend’s wedding, she packed different outfits and accessories for the occasion, including a $1,560 Gucci bag and jewelry.

But when she returned to Halifax and opened her checked luggage, she immediately knew something was wrong. 

“All of my packing cubes had been opened, emptied and disarrayed, my little jewelry travel case was emptied, upside down, zipper open,” said the 27-year-old, adding that her purses and toothbrush were also missing.

Glase said she had a panic attack and didn’t know what to do at first. She went to social media and found users on Reddit describing similar incidents. 

“It’s frustrating, but it’s mostly violating,” she said. 

She was not alone. CBC spoke to three other passengers on WestJet 2625. All of them said their luggage was rummaged through and had missing or misplaced items.

John Gradek, an aviation management lecturer at McGill University, said these cases are not uncommon, especially in airports in Mexico, the Caribbean and parts of Europe.

“Sometimes surveillance practices and the security enforcement practices may not be up to Canadian standards,” he said.

Gradek said checked luggage is the airline’s responsibility because passengers buy their tickets from them.

In a statement to CBC News, WestJet said it received some reports from this flight and is working with “internal and external partners, as well as impacted guests.”

WestJet wouldn’t say how many reports it received, what partners it is working with, or what its work looks like in this situation. It also declined an interview request.

Gradek advises passengers to keep a list of the items they packed, complete with photos and receipts if possible. He said this is because some airlines will reimburse items if there are paper trails of their value.

WestJet’s website says the airline reviews reimbursement requests with itemized receipts based on its guidelines.

Once the initial shock wore off, Glase reported the missing items to WestJet and sent receipts, hoping to get reimbursed. She also reported it to the RCMP.

In a statement to CBC, an RCMP spokesperson said these kinds of incidents are difficult to track, as they cross jurisdictions and some passengers won’t notice missing items until they arrive at their final destination days later.

Still, Gradek says it is worthwhile to report these cases to local authorities.

“In Halifax as an example, you have CCTV cameras, full-circuit cameras that are at various places in the inbound flow … that would be something that the RCMP and the local airport police would normally investigate.” 

A spokesperson for the Halifax International Airport Authority said it has not been made aware of any stolen belongings from the WestJet flight. 

CBC reached out to the Cancun Airport operator, ASUR, and police in Benito Juárez, the encompassing municipality, but received no response from either.

Glase hopes this incident motivates airlines to be more proactive.

She believes something as simple as telling passengers in an email not to have any valuables in their checked bags could have helped her, adding that it may not be common knowledge for everyone. 

“This could have been avoided,” said Glase.

There was one silver lining for her, though. A couple who flew on the same flight says their luggage was also completely rifled through. They found one white purse in there that did not belong to anyone they knew.

Sandra Johnson posted on social media trying to find the original owner, and that’s how she met Glase. 

While the purse that Johnson had was not her expensive designer bag, it was one she was missing.

Glase recovered that handbag before taking another plane to her home in Ontario, which she is grateful for.

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