An easyJet passenger claims that her suitcase arrived with £2,000 worth of items missing after a flight.
Leoni Crowther was travelling from the Isle of Man to Belfast.
The 21-year-old had a stopover at Manchester Airport where she claims she collected her luggage and checked it back in.
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She says the suitcase weighed 19kg when she gave it to airport staff before getting on the second flight to Northern Ireland.
When she arrived at Belfast International Airport, she claims that £2,000 worth of items were missing from her suitcase.
Leoni studies criminology at Queen’s University Belfast and had packed £600 worth of makeup, a £150 handbag and a £250 Vivienne Westwood jumper.
She also had three pairs of £100 trainers, a £50 Victoria Secret dressing gown, three pairs of £60 jeans and sentimental gifts from her grandmother in the case.
She says all that was left when she opened her suitcase was a pair of sports leggings, a lunchbox, a sports bra and a laptop charger.
“My suitcase was the first one that came through on the conveyor belt and it looked absolutely fine,” Leoni, from Isle of Man, told Need to Know.
“It was all zipped up but when I picked it up, it was really light.”
She claimed: “I opened it up and my heart sank. It was empty apart from my leggings, bra, lunchbox and laptop charger.
“I thought it must be a joke. It’s so weird. I didn’t understand it.
“The suitcase had almost everything I own in it including some gifts from my nan.”
Leoni claims she went to an easyJet helpdesk who advised her that she should contact Manchester Airport as the plane she’d flown on had already been checked.
She said the told her there wasn’t any luggage that had been left behind.
She also reported it to police.
Leoni said: “Everyone said they’d never heard of anything like this before.
“They said they checked the hold and there was nothing there so whatever happened must have happened at Manchester Airport.
“I’ve had to put off university work to email easyJet. It’s been a nightmare.
“I’ve had to borrow my friend’s clothes and I have no way of replacing the items because I’m a third year student.
“I just want to know what happened.
“It’s hard to contact the right people because when you call there’s no option for someone who has their suitcase but the contents are missing.”
Luckily, Leoni bought travel insurance for the journey and is hoping her claim will be accepted.
Leoni added: “I never usually get travel insurance but I just happened to this time.
“My flight from the Isle of Man to Manchester was delayed by three hours so I missed the flight to Belfast and had to wait until 7am the next day.
“It was such a long day anyway so I really didn’t need this.
“I’m just so grateful I kept my laptop with me.”
It happened after her flight on 11 January.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “We were sorry to learn of Ms Crowther’s experience.
“We take all allegations of this nature very seriously and are now investigating this with our baggage handlers.
“We work closely with all of our airport partners to ensure our passengers’ bags are handled securely.”
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has been approached for comment.
