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A Los Angeles woman is demanding answers from American Airlines after tracking her missing luggage to a homeless encampment in Hollywood using an Apple AirTag device. Aunny Grace says her travel nightmare unfolded after her flight from Dallas to Burbank was delayed on May 29.
"American Airlines left thousands of people stranded in the airport overnight for days, actually," Grace told NBC4. She spent the night in Dallas and was informed her bag would be delayed upon arriving in Burbank. However, five days later, Grace received the wrong suitcase.
Grace had placed an AirTag tracker in her luggage, which showed her bag's journey – first to Denver, back to Dallas, and eventually to Burbank days later. "When the carrier called me, he said he was at my house. I looked and saw my AirTag twinkling down Western Avenue very slowly," she told the outlet.
Following the AirTag signal, Grace located her luggage at a homeless encampment near Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue in Hollywood. "Sometime between midnight and 7 am, my bag wound up in Homeless Town Hollywood," she said. Her suitcase had been rummaged through, with valuables like jewelry and souvenirs missing.
"I'm just crying, grabbing my stuff," Grace described. "This homeless man just ransacked through my stuff." She claims that after paying the man, she had retrieved her belongings and filed a police report.
Grace noticed other American Airlines tagged bags at the encampment. "I want to know, how did my suitcase go from the Burbank Airport to a homeless encampment in Hollywood?" she questioned the airline.
American Airlines stated they "strive to ensure that our customers' checked luggage and other items arrive at their destinations on schedule and in their original condition." The airline is investigating the incident and has offered Grace a $1,700 reimbursement, far below her estimated $6,300 in losses.
However, Grace remains unsatisfied, criticizing the airport's handling of delayed luggage as easy targets for theft. "The bags that are delayed, they remove them from the carousel line, and they bring them to the office. So you have the bags in the office, and then you have the rest of them just outside," she explained.
As the investigation continues, the bizarre case highlights persistent issues with airlines losing or mishandling passenger luggage amid the busy summer travel season.
