JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of pieces of luggage were left sitting at Delta's baggage claim at Jacksonville International Airport Monday following the global software outage Thursday night, which is still causing problems for airlines.
Passengers described their travels as a “nightmare” and a “disaster.” Some passengers told First Coast News they spent four days trying to get home, some sleeping at airports. Then, when they finally arrived, they found their luggage wasn't at baggage claim.
“It’s been a mess," said Bonnie Goodnow. "It’s been a nightmare.”
“Cancelled at 3:00 in the morning," said Steve Lazar.
“I was supposed to be home around 10 a.m. yesterday," said Rafael, who only wanted to provide his first name and described the luggage as a "sea of bags."
“Got delayed four times," said Mikaela Phillips.
“This is my fourth day of travel," said Kellie Roberts.
Roberts was one of the people whose luggage wasn’t at JAX.
“Actually I didn’t sleep at the airport,” Roberts said. “I stood in lines all night long.”
It was the same story for Phillips, who Roberts met in line.
“I don’t know where it is,” Phillips said about her bag.
Steve and Dawne Lazar were supposed to get home days ago. They said they spent 18 hours at an airport.
“It’s like an Easter egg hunt,” Steve Lazar said while looking for his bag.
“There’s a lot of bags everywhere and I don’t know which one will be mine,” Rafael said.
It’s not just Delta passengers searching for their bags. Goodnow flew on American Airlines. But Delta has had the most cancelled flights, according to the online tracker FlightAware.
“My credit card took a little bit of a hit because you know a soda is $4.89,” Goodnow said.
Delta Airlines said customers can submit a claim for lost baggage and request reimbursement for hotel, meal and ground transportation expenses. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on X hundreds of complaints have been filed with the Department of Transportation.
“It’s a big oversight, what happened,” said Rafael.
Even passengers who did not find their bags at JAX said they were just glad to be home.
“It was an adventure to say the least,” said Phillips.
A Delta spokesperson responded to First Coast News's questions by sending a link to their latest online update, which can be viewed here.
A JAX spokesperson said from Friday to Monday morning, there were more than 80 flight cancellations in all. He encouraged everyone to check their flight status with their airlines and said it’s up to the airlines to take care of the luggage.