Woman's distress after parents' ashes lost in journey to Dublin

Donna O'Connor said she wanted to scatter her parents' ashes in Ireland because of her family's Irish heritage

A woman who flew from the United States to scatter her parents' ashes in Ireland was left distressed after they were lost in transit.

Donna O'Connor travelled from Chicago on 30 June and placed the ashes into her hold luggage, with the intention of scattering them at a family farm.

But on arrival at Dublin Airport, she discovered her luggage was missing.

She spent several days trying to retrieve it but has now been told the luggage was sent back to her home.

Ms O'Connor told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster that she had no confidence in airline Air Canada because of how it handled the issue.

The BBC has contacted Air Canada for a response.

Ms O'Connor travelled to the Republic of Ireland with a plan to attend a memorial Mass for her late parents, Robert Emmett and Patricia O'Connor.

"It was so important to me because my family is 100% Irish heritage," she explained.

She said her parents and grandparents had always emphasised the need to maintain links with Ireland, telling her "never to let go of that thread".

'Where's my parents?'

Her journey to Dublin was not a direct flight and was beset with delays and frustration.

She flew from Chicago to Toronto in Canada and then changed flights for her onward journey on to Dublin.

However, there were problems at the airport in Toronto and she and other passengers had to sit on the plane for five-and-a-half hours before it took off.

Ms O'Connor had placed her parents' ashes in her hold luggage because she was travelling with her cat and had to take her pet on the plane as carry-on luggage.

After arriving in Dublin, she spent three-and-a-half hours waiting at the luggage carousel for her suitcase to be loaded off the flight, fearing it was lost.

"Knowing that my parents' ashes were in there was so frightening to me, because I'm thinking: 'Where are they?," she said.

"Instead of thinking; 'Where's my bag?' I kept thinking: 'Where's my parents?'"

Donna planned a memorial service her her parents Robert Emmett and Patricia O'Connor

When her luggage did not appear, she had to file a lost baggage claim which she said took another two hours.

Ms O'Connor then left the airport without her suitcase and travelled to her accommodation in County Meath, but she did not have a change of clothes or even a coat.

For eight consecutive days, she travelled forward and back to Dublin Airport, trying to find out where her suitcase had ended up.

As well as the ashes, her missing luggage also contained her laptop and a number of sentimental items.

"Every day, for eight days I went to the airport - one day for 12 hours," she said.

"There's hundreds of people looking for their luggage and some have important things that are missing, like car seats.

"They can't leave their airport with their baby or toddler because their car seat hasn't come in."

As well as trying to get information in person at the airport, she also phoned Air Canada, sent the company emails and contacted it via Twitter, but said getting a response proved very difficult.

On day six of being in Ireland without her luggage or her parents' ashes, Ms O'Connor contacted the Irish Independent newspaper, which published her story.

Then on the evening of 11 July, nearly two weeks into her trip, she received a voicemail message saying her suitcase had been returned to her home in Chicago.

Ms O'Connor is planning to stay in Ireland for at least three months, and is still determined to scatter her parents' ashes in Mayo, so the suitcase is no use to her in the United States.

Donna's suitcase was sent back to her home in Chicago without her knowledge

She said this was another example of Air Canada's poor communication.

"If they had bothered to email or call me - they had both my email and my number on my ticket, in my reservation information.

"They could have said: 'We have your bag now,' which would have eased my mind, and: 'Where do you want us to send it?'"

"Instead, they just randomly sent it back to Chicago," she said.

'Challenges for the industry'

Air Canada gave a statement to the Irish Independent, which said: "We deal with our customers directly, but we can tell you this customer's delayed bag is en route.

"The vast majority of customers arrive at their destinations with their bags.

"However, recently there have been more instances of delayed bags, and this and other challenges for the industry are a phenomenon being seen around the world as the air transport system reawakens after Covid."

It added that the global operating environment has "changed from what it was prior to the pandemic" and pointed to "well-documented issues such as security and customs lines, aircraft being held at gates unable to unload at airports, and limitations on the number of flights by air traffic control".

"All these can disrupt airport operations, particularly baggage handling and baggage connections," Air Canada said.