Lufthansa sends bags to Amsterdam hotel days after they check out; couple still awaiting bags
Harshvarshan Saraf and Akshata Khetan claim that Lufthansa has asked them for €600 (Rs 54,296) to send the bags back to them now
A Mumbai-based couple’s honeymoon to Amsterdam turned into a nightmare because of alleged mismanagement of their luggage, forcing them to reach their destination without their bags and buy all essentials in Europe. To make matters worse, their luggage was allegedly delivered to their Amsterdam hotel days after they had checked out, leaving them stranded. They are yet to receive their luggage despite returning to Mumbai on January 18.
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Lufthansa Airlines allegedly misplaced the baggage of Harshvarshan Saraf and Akshata Khetan, a honeymooning couple from Mumbai, and later delivered it to their Amsterdam hotel after they had already checked out. The couple claims their bags remain at the hotel to this day. Their journey began on January 5, when they departed from Mumbai on a Lufthansa flight to Munich, where they were scheduled to take a connecting flight to Amsterdam. Upon arrival at Munich airport, they were informed that all flights to Amsterdam had been cancelled.
Since their bookings were prepaid, they followed the advice of a Lufthansa agent in Munich and took a Lufthansa City flight to Cologne, from where they travelled by train to Amsterdam. However, upon arriving in Cologne, they discovered that their luggage had not been loaded onto the Munich-Cologne flight. The airline eventually delivered their bags to their Amsterdam hotel on January 9—by which time they had already departed for Switzerland. Their luggage remains at the Amsterdam hotel, and Lufthansa has yet to respond about retrieval of their bags. An email query sent to Lufthansa seeking comment on the matter remained unanswered till the time of going to press.
‘Mental, financial trauma’
Describing his harrowing experience, Saraf told mid-day, “Our disappointing experience with Lufthansa, made worse by their lack of support and cooperation, despite this being no fault of ours, has caused both mental and financial trauma. On January 5, we reached Munich via flight LH 767 and were supposed to board LH 2302 from Munich to Amsterdam.”
In Munich, they were informed that their Amsterdam flight had been cancelled. “After nearly two hours, we reached the Lufthansa service centre to sort out our flight. We were told that almost all Lufthansa and KLM flights to Amsterdam that day had been cancelled,” Saraf added.
“We couldn’t afford to wait another day, as all our travel and accommodation had been paid for, and there was a strong chance flights would be cancelled again. A Lufthansa staff member at the counter, R Weigl, was very understanding and suggested a Lufthansa City flight to Cologne, from where we could take a train to Amsterdam, with compensation for travel. She confirmed our luggage would be loaded onto the same flight, VL 1978, so we agreed,” he said.
‘Bags never made it’
Recalling their ordeal, Khetan said, “Before boarding, we asked the staff to verify if our bags had been loaded. She checked her screen and assured us they were. But, upon arriving in Cologne, we discovered our bags had not been loaded at all. Needless to say, the stress quickly set in. We had to fill out an online missing baggage form, providing all necessary details, descriptions, and addresses—including both our Amsterdam hotel and our permanent Indian address. We were told the bags would arrive within 1–3 days, even as Cologne is only 3.5 hours away by train.”
She added, “We rushed to Cologne station to catch the last direct fast train to Amsterdam. Then, our luggage took five days, not the promised three, to arrive at our Amsterdam hotel on January 9. We were already in Switzerland by then. Between January 5 and 9, we made multiple calls and sent emails to the courier company assigned by Lufthansa. But, the only response we got was an email with the courier company’s name, phone number, and reference number, but no tracking link. The Dikker & Thijs hotel has been incredibly helpful holding our luggage for us to this day.”
‘A nightmare on honeymoon’
Saraf said, “The panic, stress, and fear of losing our valuables—our clothes, shoes, and essentials—was unimaginable.” The couple eventually filed a complaint on the airline’s website. They also claimed that Lufthansa was demanding €300 (R27,148) per bag to return their luggage to India, totalling €600 (54,296) for both bags.
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