logo
Travel nightmare: Man says Spirit Airlines lost bag of gifts months ago, hasn't made restitution

Travel nightmare: Man says Spirit Airlines lost bag of gifts months ago, hasn't made restitution

Yahoo23-05-2025

It's been four months since Spirit Airlines lost a Cobb County family's luggage, and tell Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray that they still have not gotten any restitution from Spirit Airlines.
William Bruce said his family dropped off their bag loaded with Christmas gifts for their family back in Brazil at the counter at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Jan. 25.
Bruce said he was so amazed by the self-service drop-off that he recorded a video. That was the last time he saw his bag.
'They want you to go away. They'd rather you just get tired and just go away,' Bruce said.
But Bruce is refusing to give up in his customer service mess with Spirit Airlines.
'All you can do is text or talk to a bot, never a real person. And it just gets so frustrating,' Bruce told Gray.
It was a January flight from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale to Rio, where Spirit lost his wife's bag that was loaded down with gifts for her Brazilian family - about $1,000 in purchases.
TRENDING STORIES:
Murder suspect shoots girlfriend in head in East Point, goes on 2-state crime spree, police say
Husband ran off to Costa Rica with nanny after wife's south GA murder, GBI says
Possible explosion at Georgia Volkswagen dealership, officials say
'All the Christmas presents, all the stuff that she had been saving,, were gone,' Bruce said.
It's what happened since that has really upset Bruce – months of getting nowhere, trying to get compensation for the lost bag.
Each spring, the consumer advocacy group PIRG analyzes U.S Department of Transportation airline complaint data.
'Overall, Spirit had the second worst complaint ratio behind only Frontier,' said Teresea Murry from PIRG.
Murry said if you don't get satisfaction from the airline, you can file a complaint directly with the Department of Transportation.
'Then that airline has 30 days to at least acknowledge your complaint. And then they have 60 days to respond in writing with details,' Murry said.
Finally, after months of waiting, Spirit told the Bruces they would pay restitution for the lost bag – just $270.
But it cost more than $200 in bag fees just to pay for a service they never got – flying the bag to Brazil.
'They're Spirit. They are ghosts. I'm like, 'Well, they're treating us like ghosts. They're really ghosting us,'' Bruce said.
Gray showed Bruce where to file a complaint with the DOT. He said he was filing that on Friday.
It's important to note that you need to complain to the airline first. PIRG said it's a good idea to jot down notes on what's in your bag, or even take pictures when you're traveling.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israel to expel French nationals on Gaza aid boat by end of week
Israel to expel French nationals on Gaza aid boat by end of week

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Israel to expel French nationals on Gaza aid boat by end of week

Israel is to expel by the end of the week four French nationals held after security forces intercepted their Gaza-bound aid boat, France's foreign minister said Wednesday, as an Israeli NGO said one of the French campaigners was briefly put in solitary confinement. The announcement came as France's prime minister accused activists aboard the boat -- who hoped to raise awareness about the humanitarian situation in war-torn Gaza -- of capitalising on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for political attention. The four, who include Rima Hassan, a member of European Parliament from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party who is of Palestinian descent, will be deported on Thursday and Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. They were among 12 people on board the Madleen sailboat which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza before it was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the besieged Palestinian territory on Monday. Four, including two French citizens and Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, agreed to be deported immediately. The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, according to Adalah, an Israeli rights NGO representing most of the activists. All 12 of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years. Adalah said on Wednesday that Israeli authorities had placed French MEP Hassan and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila in solitary confinement, with Hassan later removed. - 'Abandoning French prisoners' - "Israeli authorities transferred two of the volunteers -- the Brazilian volunteer Thiago Avila and the French-Palestinian European Parliament member Rima Hassan -- to separate prison facilities, away from the others, and placed them in solitary confinement," Adalah said in a statement. The NGO later said that Hassan had been moved back to Givon prison in Ramla, near Tel Aviv, while Avila remained in isolation. When asked for comment, Israel's prison authority referred AFP to the foreign ministry, which said it was checking the reports. Adalah said Hassan was put in isolation after writing "Free Palestine" on a prison wall. The NGO said Brazilian activist Avila was placed in isolation "due to his ongoing hunger and thirst strike, which he began two days ago." "He has also been treated aggressively by prison authorities, although this has not escalated to physical assault," it added. The leader of Hassan's LFI party in parliament, Mathilde Panot, said France's prime minister Francois Bayrou had failed to condemn Israel's actions. The party's boss, Jean-Luc Melenchon, accused Bayrou of "abandoning the French prisoners", and called on President Emmanuel Macron to step in. "These activists obtained the effect they wanted, but it's a form of instrumentalisation to which we should not lend ourselves," Bayrou responded in the National Assembly. It's "through diplomatic action, and efforts to bring together several states to pressure the Israeli government, that we can obtain the only possible solution" to the conflict, he added. Foreign Minister Barrot also rejected Panot's criticism, saying "the admirable mobilisation" of French officials had made a rapid resolution of the situation possible "despite the harassment and defamation that they have been subjected to". - Mounting pressure - France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting a UN meeting later this month in New York on steps towards recognising a Palestinian state and reaching a so-called two-state solution to the conflict. Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, whose entire population the United Nations has warned is at risk of famine. Israel's defence minister Israel Katz on Wednesday called on Egypt to block a hundreds-strong pro-Palestinian activist convoy from reaching Gaza, as the group arrived in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023 attacked Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli military offensive has killed at least 55,104 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable. Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. burs-jh-acc/gv

Japan's Princess Kako addresses Brazil's Congress, meets with Lula in presidential palace
Japan's Princess Kako addresses Brazil's Congress, meets with Lula in presidential palace

Hamilton Spectator

time2 hours ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Japan's Princess Kako addresses Brazil's Congress, meets with Lula in presidential palace

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Japan's Princess Kako of Akishino, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, was welcomed on Wednesday by Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a private ceremony on the latest leg of her 11-day tour of the South American nation. The younger daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko also addressed Congress and thanked Brazilians for hosting Japanese immigrants for more than a century. Her trip, which started on June 5, marks the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 'The efforts of the Japanese who came, and the Brazilians who went to Japan, are deepening our bilateral relationship of friendship,' Kako told Brazilian lawmakers. 'I hope that the relationship between the two countries is a long lasting one.' Congress speaker Hugo Motta told the princess he hopes Brazil's ethanol 'can help Japan reduce its dependency on fossil fuels.' Brazil has the largest population of people of Japanese descent in the world, estimated at about 2.7 million. About half of those live in Sao Paulo state, official figures show, where the princess last week received the state's highest honor from Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas. Emperor Naruhito has no male children, which makes his brother Akishino, Princess Kako's father, the first successor in line. Japan's tradition does not allow women to take the throne. Princess Kako will arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, where she will visit the Christ the Redeemer statue and a museum of Japanese immigration. The last part of her trip will take place in the city of Foz do Iguacu, where the world famous Iguacu falls are located. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

‘Everything is uncertain now': Venezuelan travelers blindsided by travel ban
‘Everything is uncertain now': Venezuelan travelers blindsided by travel ban

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

‘Everything is uncertain now': Venezuelan travelers blindsided by travel ban

For Venezuelan travelers the past few days have been filled with uncertainty, fear and confusion — not to mention the financial toll. Since the Trump administration issued a travel ban barring nationals from 12 countries including Venezuela, Venezuelans both in and outside the U.S. have scrambled to reschedule flights — some moved them earlier, others delaying plans. Some wanted to arrive before the ban kicked in on Monday. Others wanted to waitto travel out of fear that Customs and Border Protection would be revoking visas. And for families that were hoping for reunification pending an upcoming appointment to get a visa, plans have been canceled. Among those who changed plans to beat the travel ban was José Malave and his family. READ MORE: What you need to know about Trump's travel ban on Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela Malave had booked a flight with his wife, Estefanía Ramírez, their 10-month-old baby, and his mother-in-law from Mexico City, where they currently reside, to New York City. The trip was meant to reunite his wife with her brothers, whom she hadn't seen in over a decade. The family had scheduled the trip six months in advance for June 12 — just three days after the travel ban was set to take effect. But on June 4, when the White House proclamation was made public, their plans were thrown into chaos. 'We moved our flight to June 8, a day before the travel ban took effect, terrified that once it started we wouldn't be allowed into the U.S.,' Malave said. 'We were scared and distressed, but luckily, we were able to enter without any issues at customs, though the financial impact has been huge.' The family had to spend an extra $800 to change the flights. Malave, 33, and Ramírez, 32, both computer programmers, are naturalized Mexican citizens. However, they travel using their U.S. tourist visas, which are stamped in their Venezuelan passports. Their 10-month-old son is a born Mexican citizen with a U.S. visa in his Mexican passport, while Ramírez's mother holds only Venezuelan citizenship. Malave expressed deep frustration with the abruptness of the travel ban — and he takes great offense to the implications it makes about Venezuelans. Trump's proclamation states that the measure is a way to protect the United States from terrorism and crime, and that the designated countries lack screening and vetting information for travelers. 'This proclamation affects everyone, no matter their background. It should've taken effect with more notice,' he said. 'People are interpreting it differently, and Venezuelans are caught in the middle.' He feels heartbroken, unsure of how to plan for the future. 'Everything is uncertain now. We had planned to spend Christmas in New York, maybe take our son to Disney — but those dreams are shattered. We don't even know if we'll be able to travel again on our Venezuelan passports.' 'We don't know when, or if, we'll see our family again. This is the reality Venezuelans face, even outside of Venezuela.' While Malave's family was able to reschedule their flights and reunite with their relatives, many others may never get the chance to reunite with their loved ones in the U.S. Karla Flores is a Venezuelan who has has lived in Woodbridge, Va., for the past three years. She planned to take her mother, Mercedes, from Venezuela to Spain in order to apply for a U.S. tourist visa, where the application process is faster than in Colombia. Since the Nicolás Maduro regime severed diplomatic relations with the United States in 2019 after President Trump, during his first term, recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's interim president, the U.S. consular office for Venezuelan visa applications now operates out of Bogotá, Colombia. But it has a year-long backlog. Flores said her mother is living alone and struggling with health issues. Flores left Venezuela eight years ago—that was the last time she saw her mother, who is 75. Now the hope for a reunion seems lost. 'We have uncertainty and profound sadness,' Flores said. 'We don't understand why we have to go through this.' The U.S. State Department clarified on Sunday that the travel ban does not apply to individuals holding valid visas issued before June 9. However, for many Venezuelans with current tourist, business, or student visas, and flights scheduled just days away, the clarification came too late to ease their fears. Confusion and anxiety had already set in, with travelers uncertain about whether they would be denied entry at the border — or worse, have their visas revoked. Venezuelans living in Maracaibo, in the western state of Zulia—about 700 kilometers from Caracas—often travel overland for more than three hours to reach Colombian border cities before flying from Bogotá to U.S. destinations like Miami. There have been no direct flights between Venezuela and the United States since 2019, when the Trump administration suspended air service. As a result, what was once a three-hour flight from Caracas to Miami has become a costly and time-consuming journey, often taking longer than a flight to Europe. On Monday, Venezuelan passengers at Bogotá's airport reported unusually slow and thorough security screenings. Aleika Áñez, co-owner of Kunana Travel, a Venezuelan travel agency with 34 years of experience said her clients reported that there were delays leaving Colombian airports. 'A customer who traveled on Monday said the check-in process was more rigorous at the airline counter because they held Venezuelan passports,' she said but despite the uncertainty, many Venezuelans flying from Colombia to Miami have been able to enter the U.S. 'without incident.' Many are waiting to see how Venezuelans are treated at immigration checkpoints this week, she said. Several Venezuelan travelers told her they were rescheduling trips for later in the summer to see how the travel ban is implemented. Ultimately, entry to the U.S. ultimately depends on the discretion of customs officers.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store