This is the new policy from the Irish airline Aer Lingus. From now on, the company will charge a “fee” of up to €60 to passengers who have left belongings on the plane.
Phones, wallets, tablets, bags… It’s not uncommon to forget personal items during a trip. A real headache for both passengers and airlines, which are increasingly overwhelmed by the rise in forgotten items on board their aircraft.
Faced with this growing issue, Aer Lingus has decided to hit where it hurts: the wallet. Any passenger reporting lost items will now have to fill out an online form including flight details and a description of the lost belongings. If their items are found, passengers will then have to pay a fee of up to €60 to receive their belongings by mail.
Note that these fees also apply to items left in the airline’s lounge at Dublin Airport.
For Aer Lingus, this new system has several goals: to reduce the number of lost items by encouraging passenger responsibility, and to offer customers a more efficient way to recover their belongings.
“Working with a specialist partner in this area is designed to improve the customer experience… Aer Lingus does not profit from this service and does not cut costs; it is simply a way to enhance the quality of our service,” said a company spokesperson.
So, consider yourself warned: one moment of distraction, and forgetting something could cost you dearly. To avoid this, our advice is simple: travel light!
