CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — 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-10) 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.
CAPP-10’s comment came when the CCTV footage the woman posted reportedly went viral on social media generating negative comments from online users.
“The management of the Laguindingan Airport calls for all parties concerned — the woman who posted the video, to the family of the boy, and most especially for the netizens — to please refrain from making statements which may cause bullying and further harm,” a portion of the CAAP-10 statement read.
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 of the subject individual rushed [to] the Laguindingan Airport to inform the management that the person referred to [in] the video in only a minor and [is] worried for his reputation besmirched by negative comments,” the CAAP-10 statement said.
“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.
CAAP-10 said they are "grateful for all those who helped return the missing luggage, but we also wanted to make it clear that what happened was just a common luggage mischance. We understand that this is one of an air travelers’ nightmare and every stakeholder is doing their best to avoid such incident."
“However, as it was said, it takes a village to raise a child, so must ensure the protection of our minors from being put into humiliation and indignation,” the aviation authority 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. (PNA)
