Originally Posted by
deac83
After another hour of waiting the agents insisted they had to wait for the bags or the would be thrown out.
Just after 2 hrs of waiting they finally delivered the bags.
I know domestically you can just file a lost bag claim, from personal experience.
The AA agent would not let them leave customs.
That’s not the process. Airlines have to deal with delayed/temporarily lost bags all the time. There isn’t‘ a secret room with cots in the customs area where passengers with delayed bags are held until the bags arrive on the next flight. Airlines have to take them through customs for the affected customers.
Did your wife have a connecting flight after arrival? Did she make that flight despite the delay?
I think the agent was just too lazy to deal with the bags. It’s obviously easier for them to have the passengers take them through customers instead to have the airline do that and then later deliver it to the passenger at home.
I would have been tempted to find a customs officer and ask them “my bag is delayed, is it right that this AA agent can force me to stay here under the thread if otherwise throwing out my bag?”
I hope you have the name of the AA agent. I would file a DOT complaint.