According to the Air Transport Users Council, around 85% of airport luggage is immediately claimed by their rightful owners in under 48 hours. In fact, figures point that nearly £30m worth of luggage is classified as “lost” in Europe annually, alarming airport authorities to seek ways to reunite the bags with their masters. Thus, auctions houses like Greasby’s took it upon themselves to house their precious luggage for potential auctioning, to give owners a chance to track their things themselves. Couldn’t hurt, right?
Of course, airlines don’t immediately wash their hands of the unclaimed and lost baggage after the 48 hours have lapsed. The search for the bags’ owners goes on for about 3 months, which is a reasonable tracking period, before these are turned over to auction houses. Auctioneers then take the liberty of emptying the contents of the bags and auctioning off each sellable piece to the public. If you had lost your luggage three months ago and haven’t heard from it since, you might try looking into auction activities. Who knows, you might find your precious shoes there.
Bids normally begin at £5 and goes up depending on the “demand.” It’s either a bargain hunter’s dream day or the actual owner’s worst nightmare. Imagine having to bid relentlessly for a gadget you once owned and worked hard to purchase and finding out that 3 more people in the lot are also interested in it. Lesson to be learned? Take care of your luggage. Of course, it wouldn’t be your fault if the airline lost it. In this case, you have your insurance company (if you have one) to pay you for the damages.