This just happened and I’m still kind of shocked.
My parents flew IAH to IST on Turkish, then onward to Nepal. On the Houston to Istanbul leg, the overhead bin over their seats was full, so a flight attendant took their carry-on and put it several rows ahead. Crew did this, not my parents.
When they landed in Istanbul and got to that row, the bag was gone. A very similar blue carry-on was left behind, so clearly another passenger grabbed the wrong one and walked off with my parents’ bag.
They told the crew immediately. The bag was already off the plane. Airport staff sent them to Lost and Found, then told them not to leave the secure area since they were just transiting and had no Turkish visa. They were assured the airline would handle it if the bag showed up.
We filed a report. Later, Turkish Airlines confirmed the carry-on was found and is sitting at Istanbul Airport. But now they refuse to ship it, even if we pay, and say someone has to physically come to Istanbul to pick it up.
This makes no sense to me. The bag was moved by the crew, taken by another passenger because of that, and my parents literally could not exit the airport. Flying to Istanbul just to grab a carry-on feels insane.
Has anyone dealt with something like this on Turkish or another airline? Is this really standard? And am I crazy for thinking the airline should take responsibility here?
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