Thanks a lot for the speedy reply! Unfortunately I think you have reaffirmed my concerns about the situation
I am on a business trip and will be in Milan for at least 6 weeks, and knowing that I would be quarantining for 2 weeks, I didn't pack lightly on this occasion. There are a lot of valuables in my case, many of which I planned on using during my 2 weeks of isolation. So whilst a lot of the items are replaceable, the impact it will have on my quarantine period is incredibly frustrating and upsetting - and is not something I will be compensated for in any way. The real kick in the teeth is that I saw their case left on the carousel after everyone else had gone and it CLEARLY was not the same as mine. Their case was smaller, completely different brand, a lot lighter than mine (mine was overweight as highlighted by the bright orange label attached to the handle) and had a smooth finish where as mine was textured. I am shocked that someone has made such a careless, incompetent mistake.
This leads me onto a couple of other questions......
1. As the WorldTracer status is currently at Missing, I assume my case is technically lost at this point in time as far as BA are concerned. If (god forbid), this is still the case after 21 days, will my case be defined as 'lost', meaning I would be entitled to compensation?
2. When my case is located and officially placed into the system in India, will it only be possible for this to be returned to me via BA flights? E.g. they would not be able to use another airline to fly the case to Milan or Heathrow? Like you have said, I expect the likelihood and frequency of BA flights operating between India and Milan are not very good with the current pandemic situation.
Thanks so much for the explanation/advice - it's really difficult to get any comprehensive explanations from the airports on how this process works!