People Stuck In Airports Are Texting Phone Numbers On Luggage To Reunite Travelers With Missing Bags

January 4, 2023

When thousands of flights were canceled over the holidays, good Samaritans were texting strangers with the location of their lost luggage.

Credit: Brittany Loubier-Vervisch

One of those good Samaritans is Brittany Loubier-Vervisch, who found herself searching through an "Armageddon of luggage" at Tampa International Airport the day after Christmas.

Loubier-Vervisch told Insider there were "hundreds, if not thousands" of bags piled up at the baggage claim from flights all over the country.

Knowing she was stuck at the airport while her husband stood in line for customer service, she realized she could probably reunite some travelers with their bags by texting the number listed on the luggage tag.

According to Insider, she said she sent at least 50 text messages while sifting through to find her luggage.

One recipient posted a screenshot of the text she received from Loubier-Vervisc to Twitter.

A text from Loubier-Vervisc posted to Twitter

Another good Samaritan shared the same idea to Reddit to encourage others to follow suit.

"Flight delayed and need something to do? Go to baggage claim, look for phone numbers in the piles of bags, & notify people of their bag’s location," she wrote on a Southwest Airlines public forum.

"Let’s do what we can to help each other get out of this mess," she added.

The Reddit user shared a few screenshots of the responses she has received from strangers after texting the location of their lost luggage.

u/Kalepopsicle

u/Kalepopsicle

u/Kalepopsicle

u/Kalepopsicle

u/Kalepopsicle

Loubier-Vervisch said she was just trying to help people.

"I'm a teacher, I help people, that's what I do," she said. "Anybody can do something. What I did was very small, but if everybody does something, it can have a ripple effect."