Baggage backlog continues at Ottawa Airport

It took nearly a week for Jocelyn Puno and Justin Kristoffer Mendoza to reach their final destination.

"We’re exhausted, feeling frustrated, tired, sleepy," Puno said.

Both were supposed to arrive in Ottawa on Dec. 21, after departing the Philippines on Dec. 20.

"We are from the Philippines and we came here to study at Algonquin College."

However, the severe winter weather cancelled flights across the country, and both were grounded in Vancouver until Tuesday.

After days of waiting and nearly 24 hours of travel and layovers, they finally arrived in the capital but encountered another obstacle.

"We’re waiting for our luggage now. It seems like there is a problem again," Puno said.

"I originally lost my luggage from Philippines to Vancouver and then I lost two pieces of luggage on the way here."

Across the country, travellers were warned about severe luggage delays as Pearson International Airport in Toronto struggles to catch up after a broken luggage belt.

It is not just those flying into the Ottawa International Airport dealing with lost luggage. Those leaving the capital, like Rossa McPhillips, wonder if they will see their baggage again.

"We landed here Dec. 22, no bags. They said 24 to 48 hours but we are flying back today, it’s now the 28th and still no bags," he said. 

McPhillips taking a final lap around the unclaimed pile of bags before catching his return flight to Dublin but still no luck.

"It’s shambles, absolute shambles,” he said.

In a statement, Air Canada says it is working as "quickly as possible" to return delayed luggage to customers.

"We cannot provide a timeline, in part because we must contact the customers to confirm delivery or pick-up, and some may be travelling or otherwise not reachable over the holidays."

Meanwhile, WestJet says teams across the network have a lot of bags to sort through after the large backlog of cancellations experienced over the holidays but they are working around the clock to get them moving.

With no checked luggage in tow, Puno and Mendoza are calling it quits for now, hoping their luggage shows up in time for classes in January.

"It’s a rough start but hoping it will turn out good in the coming days," he said.