DULLES, Va. — Along with the delays and cancellations that have slammed air travel this season, passengers can add another nightmare: Lost luggage.
"It's a lot of luggage," gasped one woman, shocked at the luggage piled from floor to ceiling at the Air France baggage room Wednesday at Dulles International Airport.
Scores of bags are piled floor to ceiling, but there's no sign of Olivia Ouimet's luggage. Peering through the glass door she said, "I think there's no way," she'll find the missing bag she last saw in Greece.
A Facebook page called Air France Lost My Luggage now has nearly 120 members.
All across Europe, and in the U.S., lost baggage is piling up. In Paris, a three-day strike by airport workers at the beginning of the month blew up an already stressed system.
Another guy wandering baggage claim at Dulles said he'd flown through Paris and on to Salt Lake City. But his bag went elsewhere.
"And then a few days later, I got an email from the ground crew in Majorca!" His luggage had gone to the Spanish island in the middle of the Mediterranean. "They said they had my bag and how would I like to get it," he said.
It's now been two weeks, that bag's been handed off between four airlines, and he's losing hope of recovering it and a very special keepsake.
"My grandfather's watch that he traded a soldier for, during World War II, That's gone," he said.
Air France has released a statement apologizing, saying it's reinforced its teams at baggage and call centers, and promising to deliver luggage as quickly as possible. But some passengers complain the company won't even let them in the room to look for their bags.
"I'm just getting yelled at to get that bag because there's a lot of money in that bag. We're talking $2,000 worth of stuff," said Olivia Ouimet's dad, Jake. "Well I had to be hospitalized twice in Greece, so this on top of everything," said his exasperated daughter.
Brinevieve Kabia and her dad are visiting from Sierra Leone. They're trying to put their best faces on it, saying they're only missing one bag. But Kabia is just nine, and she desperately wants the clothes she was planning to wear on the big visit to Washington.
If you're traveling this summer, a lot of experts say it's probably smart to limit yourself just to a carry-on. Some suggest stuffing a tracker like an air tag inside. But on that Lost My Luggage Facebook Page, one guy traced his bag back to De Gaulle Airport. He can see it's sitting there, but it hasn't helped him get it back.