The airline losing your luggage is pretty much a nightmare. I mean sure, you can pack the things you really need in your carry-on, but there’s just something about not having your things that can make you feel so much more lost, and stressed, especially if you’re away from home.
Most of the time, though, the airline is quick to recover and return your things.
That wasn’t the case for Tuscon resident Maria Dellos, whose bags went missing more than two decades ago, never to be seen again.
At least, that’s what she thought…
Until she got a call from TSA.
Because she apparently has terrible luck, she assumed they were ringing about the luggage they lost 4 months ago, but no – it was about her bag that had disappeared twenty years earlier.
She told KVOA news about her reaction to the call.
“Well I actually almost ignored the call because of telemarketing. All day long I get calls.”
We feel you, Maria.
The bag was returned, and inside it she found art supplies she’d purchased from a trade show, as well as a handwritten note that was chock full of nostalgia for her.
“When I looked at this note, it was dated, it dated me as 20 years ago! And I was just absolutely blown away. I’m absolutely thankful to the TSA for calling me today and giving me great faith back into the airline industry.”
I don’t know if I’d have “great faith” if I was her, but it’s also amazing to me that they actually called and got her the bag instead of trashing it in order to never have to discuss their mistake.
TSA says the bag was likely left unattended for so long that someone dumped it in lost and found without researching who it might belong to or where it should properly have been sent.
Oh, and her more recently lost bags? Those’ve been returned, too, so maybe her faith isn’t totally misplaced.
Time will tell. I’ll be ready for updates the next time she flies.