After news covered the luggage chaos at European airports last week, we have received many emails from frustrated travelers. This is how the email from Knut Møen, hydrologist at NVE, to news starts. The maid and partner Harald Songe traveled to Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard to maintain and establish hydrological measuring points. – There are measurements that contribute to knowledge about climate change and melting permafrost in the Arctic, Møen explains. RESEARCHERS ON A TRIP: Knut Møen and Harald Songe on their way to Isfjord Radio in Ny-Ålesund. Photo: Øydis Castberg But in Longyearbyen they got off the plane without their luggage, and thus without the equipment they needed to carry out the work. – It is not so easy to get luggage sent to a place where there are two flights a week, says Møen. – Went to the sink – A week before I left, I read an article from Schiphol that described the chaos. I thought it would be enough when I travel. That’s what Fredrik says, who was to fly from Trondheim to Marseilles in France, via Amsterdam two weeks ago. Two packages full of motorcycle clothes were to go to France, where he and cohabitant Eirin were to embark on a week-long motorcycle trip. Eirin filmed the chaos at Schiphol when she and cohabitant Fredrik traveled via Amsterdam last week. Not only was the plane down a day late, the luggage also disappeared somewhere over Europe. – So that trip went in the sink, he says to news. SLEEPING BENCH: Eirin and her cohabitant Fredrik had to find their own bench at Schiphol when the flight home was a few days longer than planned. Photo: private The first day in France was spent registering missing luggage at the airport and shopping for clothes and toiletries. The planned motorcycle trip was so amputated that the couple decided to drop it and try to “save the rest of the holiday”. – For a while until we will travel by plane again The journey home was also marked by delays and flight trouble that ended in an overnight stay at the airport in Amsterdam. – Briefly summed up by what was supposed to be a week’s holiday trip, I spent five days on a trip that was actually supposed to take two, I lost my luggage, and had to spend a day on administration, says Fredrik. – Now it will be another while until we will travel by plane again, the couple says. ON THE WAY HOME: Cohabitants Eirin and Fredrik were hit by both plane trouble and luggage trouble when they were going on holiday to France. They ended up coming home two days behind schedule. Photo: private – Do not send luggage now The recommendation from Norwegian insurance companies is clearly to drop checked luggage now. So far this summer, they are experiencing an enormous growth in the number of cases involving lost or delayed luggage. In If, it has increased by more than 110 per cent from May to June, and they state that there are also many more cases now than in the last normal year, which was in 2019. – When we look at the development in the number of inquiries, we are clear that this summer you should only travel with hand luggage. Do not send luggage now, says communications manager at Tryg insurance, Ole Irgens. VIDEO: Some tips from travel experts at Nomaden to pack light. Norwegian: Rare space for everyone’s trolley cases Norwegian recently introduced an extra fee for carrying hand luggage on their flights. You can choose to pay something extra in addition to a low-cost ticket, or buy one in a more expensive ticket class. At the same time, hand luggage can be somewhat larger, and checked luggage can now be a few kilos heavier, compared to before. Press contact in Norwegian, Silje Glorvigen, tells news that if the plane is fully booked, there is rarely room for everyone’s trolley cases in the luggage racks. However, everyone is welcome to bring a small bag or purse that fits under the seat. – We encourage all our passengers to be careful to check what type of ticket they have purchased, and examine what is included in their ticket. If the customer has forgotten to add extra luggage, they can easily buy this via our websites in advance of the trip, says Glorvigen. She adds that they also advise passengers to store important medicines and valuables in their hand luggage. SAS: – There is capacity in the cabin In SAS, press contact Tonje Sund says that their aircraft have capacity for cabin luggage, as long as everyone makes sure that the luggage meets the size requirements. – This is a general travel recommendation that is now valid throughout Europe, due to very high pressure at airports and luggage facilities. Travel easily, if you can! SHOPPING: Daniel Runde in Alicante had to go straight to shopping in 35 degrees when the suitcase disappeared somewhere across Europe. On day five, it finally recovered. Photo: private – Significantly more critical Carrying only hand luggage is not relevant for everyone traveling, not even for the research team on Svalbard. – For “technical” trips like ours, it is significantly more critical when luggage is lost – and one does not get an answer as to when it may appear, Knut Møen tells news. Weeks and months of planned work can quickly get a “shot in the arm”. – So also in this case. MAINTENANCE: Knut Møen tries to carry out maintenance at Linnévatnet measuring station in Ny-Ålesund. Photo: Øydis Castberg Other research environments on site had to step in and lend clothes and tools for some of the tasks, but the two emphasize that there will be more work on the next trip, which will not be until the autumn. – My luggage appeared in Longyearbyen after two days, but it did not help me much because I was not there. We picked up Harald’s luggage on the day of departure a week after arrival. We picked it up at the same time as we were to fly back to the mainland.
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Here Knut and Harald have finally got their luggage – after they have returned home from the trip
