Passenger accuses airline of destroying luggage, causing $2K in damage

On a wing and a tear.

A Ryanair passenger is ripping the budget carrier after allegedly discovering that their checked bag and the $2,000 worth of belongings inside had allegedly been completely “shredded” — leaving it looking like it had been “mauled by a tiger.” They aired their grievance in a Reddit post in an effort to out the carrier “nationally” after the carrier reportedly neglected to reply to the passengers’ claim.

According to the post, which included pics of the damage, the aggrieved flyer made the shocking discovery in baggage claim after traveling back to London, UK, from Nice, France.

The Post reached out to Ryanair for comment.

The traveler reportedly noted their checked bag failed to show up on the conveyor belt during the unloading, causing them to grow concerned that their suitcase had been “lost somewhere along the way.”

The Redditor reportedly went to the help desk to see what was amiss. “Luckily, I kept the bag tag receipt and the kind lady behind the counter was able to see the bag was somewhere in Stansted,” said the globetrotter, who initially thought this was “good news.”

The employee told the poster to “go look on all the other belts as it may have just been thrown on one of them.”

The Redditor obliged but failed to find their lost luggage, after which they learned the shocking truth. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. She walked over holding all the pieces of my bag, clutching all my stuff in her arms,” they gasped. “My initial reaction was utter shock. It honestly looked like it had been mauled by a tiger.”

They added, “Her reaction was much the same; she kept apologizing and saying she had never seen anything like this before.”

The woman subsequently dumped the tourist’s stuff out to reveal “the extent of the damage.”

“My shoe had been sliced up, shirts looked like they had been burned and ripped up,” the devastated passenger recounted. “My boxers were shredded. The bag itself was butchered. Cables torn open. My drone controller, smashed to bits.”

Trying their best to “stay calm,” the Redditor reportedly asked what the next steps were, finding out that they needed to fill out a “claim form” with every item that had “perished” and then send it off within 48 hours.

As the shredded items were falling all over, the woman gave the traveler a bin to put them all in so they could transport them to their car. “Like a depressed Father Christmas, I threw the sack of perished items over my shoulder and walked out of the airport,” they recalled.

Despite submitting the form — with receipts that listed the total value of destroyed items, including the bag, at £1,500 ($1,967.11) — the customer claimed they heard “absolutely nothing” back from Ryanair.

“No one has been in touch, not an apology. Nothing,” they fumed. “It’s absolutely shocking that a company can destroy someone’s personal belongings and take no accountability.”

The passenger even claimed they allowed the carrier a couple of weeks to respond after follow-up emails, but still had yet to hear anything, prompting them to threaten to “take my experience online.”

Reddit commenters sympathized with the poster’s alleged plight with one writing, “That is some truly stunning damage.”

Others chastised the Redditor for using a “soft bag.”

“I can’t see Ryanair not paying you, however, those Rains bags are quite soft and not the most durable,” said one. “They may argue you used unsuitable baggage for such expensive items. Just keep that in mind.”

“Looks like it got stuck on the side of a conveyor, then the moving conveyor belt shredded it,” said another. “You can see where the toothbrush, which is hard plastic, has been ground away.”

Others implored the original poster to go through their “travel insurance,” claiming it was unlikely that Ryanair would reimburse them.

According to the airline’s luggage policy, “Damaged/delayed baggage claims will be processed within 15 working days, while lost baggage claims will be processed within 28 working days or once the full tracing process is complete.”

“We will contact you by post or email when there is an update regarding your claim,” they add. “If you are unhappy with our assessment of your claim, you can contact your local Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body with your complaint.”