By Jigger J. Jerusalem
Correspondent .
The management of the Laguindingan Airport in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental is considering on recommending to airline operators the revival of luggage tagging after the bag of a Cebu Pacific passenger went missing for a few days, which Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) in Northern Mindanao called as “mischance.”
To avoid the swapping or loss of luggage in airport terminals, Laguindingan airport manager Job de Jesus said Saturday airlines must re-implement the practice of baggage tagging.
De Jesus said there were already instances that passengers were not able to get their bags upon arriving at the airport terminals all over the country and CAAP is taking note of these concerns.
“We will bring this issue to the airlines during our upcoming meetings,” he said.
The issue stemmed from a social media post of an unnamed woman passenger who said her luggage went missing upon arriving at the Laguindingan Airport.
De Jesus said the female passenger also posted a footage of the airport’s CCTV showing a child allegedly taking her bag.
CAAP-10, in a statement posted on Facebook on May 2, said there was no intention of the part of the minor to take the woman’s bag, adding that the child took it by mistake at the arrival area of the airport.
It was possible, de Jesus said, that the woman and the minor’s family were on the same Cebu Pacific flight, although CAAP-10 has not provided details on where their point of origin is, but said that both parties arrived at Laguindingan airport April 15.
CAAP-10’s comment came when the CCTV footage the woman posted reportedly went viral on social media generating negative comments from online users.
De Jesus said upon learning about the incident on Facebook, the family went to CAAP-10’s office to return the bag and explained that it was one of its members who mistakenly took it.
“The family further explained that they were not aware of such incident. The boy took the luggage thinking it was owned by his family. Nobody noticed they had an excess baggage,” it added.
De Jesus said they are investigating the incident and still determining how the woman passenger was able to get hold of a copy of the CCTV footage when only authorized airline and airport personnel are allowed to obtain a surveillance camera recording within the airport premises.
As of this writing, Cebu Pacific has yet to shed light on the incident.
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