'Horrific experience'; Air India passenger shares month-long luggage ordeal
Pratik Rai recently shared his “horrific experience” with Air India on X, exposing a frustrating month-long ordeal of misplaced baggage, miscommunication, and failed resolutions.
Rai’s troubles began on January 21 when his checked-in luggage went missing. The next day, Air India’s Bengaluru staff assured him that his bag was at the airport and trackable through their baggage system.
My HORRIFIC experience with @airindia
On 21st January, Vistara (Now Air India) lost my checked-in luggage. Here's a series of mishaps and what happened to my bag after a month! pic.twitter.com/KKKCWsMxzb
— Pratik Rai (@praaatiiik) February 24, 2025
On 22nd January, as per AirIndia Bangalore staff, my bag is in Bangalore.
AirIndia uses bag tracking and you can see the checked-in luggage status on the website. I filed a complaint and left in the hope of getting the bag delivered to my hotel. pic.twitter.com/0exJj8a8nc
— Pratik Rai (@praaatiiik) February 24, 2025
“I filed a complaint and left in the hope of getting the bag delivered to my hotel,” he wrote.
However, days passed without any updates.
“No calls, no response the next day,” Rai wrote, adding that even Air India’s Bengaluru team could not reach their Delhi counterparts. “Like, come on, how careless can you be? A team cannot communicate with their own team??” he posted on social media.
No calls, no response the next day. I called them and AirIndia Bangalore cannot get hold of AirIndia Delhi. Like, common, how careless you can be??
A team cannot communicate with their own team??
— Pratik Rai (@praaatiiik) February 24, 2025
On January 23, after receiving no updates, Rai took to X to voice his concerns.
“I get calls from social media team, Air India Bangalore team. My incident is raised to priority and bag search is on,” he continued.
A week later, Rai found that his bag had never even left Delhi due to a tagging issue. It was eventually transferred to Terminal 2’s Lost & Found section, and Rai was told he had to personally retrieve it.
On 23rd Jan, I tweet about this incident. I get calls from social media team, AirIndia Bangalore team. My incident is raised to priority and bag search is on.https://t.co/PqE5UUlrhB
— Pratik Rai (@praaatiiik) February 24, 2025
His struggle, however, didn’t end there. Upon arriving at the Lost & Found counter in Delhi on February 2, Rai found it closed due to the city’s elections. When he returned the next day, he was hit with another shock—he was given the wrong bag. “Turns out the bag is someone else’s. It has documents of some other person stuffed inside,” he wrote.
Now, on 2nd Feb during business hours, I visit the Terminal 2 Lost&Found department. It's closed due to Delhi Elections. Great!
So, I visit the next day and turns out the bag is someone else's. It has documents of some other person stuffed inside. And now I have to share CCTV…
— Pratik Rai (@praaatiiik) February 24, 2025
Despite countless calls, visits, and follow-ups, Rai’s bag remained missing. Rai mentioned that airlines compensate passengers based on luggage weight rather than actual value, estimating that his reimbursement would be no more than Rs 3,000-4,000—less than the cost of the bag itself.
Tagging aviation authorities, he concluded, “DGCA please take note of that. Slow claps, come on Air India, you can do better.”
After following up multiple times, I don't think I'll ever get my bag. And this can happen to any of US!
Here's the best part. If the airline misplaces or loses your luggage, you get compensation based on weight (per kg).
So, my grand total would not be more than 3-4k INR. That…
— Pratik Rai (@praaatiiik) February 24, 2025
Air India acknowledged the issue and announced that they had traced his bag. “Dear Mr. Rai, we are glad to inform you that we have traced the bag and our airport team has connected with you for the baggage delivery. Your patience is highly appreciated,” the airline wrote.
Dear Mr. Rai, we are glad to inform you that we have traced the bag and our airport team has connected with you for the baggage delivery. Your patience is highly appreciated.
— Air India (@airindia) February 25, 2025
Rai’s post has since gained nearly two lakh views.
