Passenger told to go and pick up lost luggage – even though it was 4,000 miles away

Man tracked his bag to London when he was in North Carolina

Heathrow has been plagued by baggage issues (Lori Harito / SWNS)

A US man was told to go and pick up his lost luggage, despite it being 4,000 miles away.

Jamie O’Grady had flown home from Faro, Portugal to Raleigh, North Carolina via London Heathrow on 9 July.

He’d checked in two bags on the American Airlines service – but, when he arrived in Raleigh, he waited for over an hour at the baggage carousel to no avail.

Staff told him the bags hadn’t been scanned and their location was unclear.

A text from a stranger alerted Mr O’Grady to the fact that his bags were still at Heathrow.

The good Samaritan said they’d seen his golf bag at baggage reclaim and had noticed it because they shared the same area code.

"My bag never should have been on those carousels," Mr O’Grady told Insider. "It should have remained behind the scenes and transferred."

He sent screenshots of the messages to American Airlines as evidence that his bag was still in London.

"We suggest that you head down to the airport to have this sorted out ASAP," an airport representative responded.

“I live in NORTH CAROLINA!!!” he replied. “Those pics are from Heathrow. Are you kidding me?

“Why don’t YOU send those screenshots to your people there. I’m 4,000 miles away!”

Mr O’Grady said he’d never seen anything like the baggage chaos he witnessed during his stopover at Heathrow.

"I was just completely floored by how much luggage was in that baggage claim area. I thought to myself: ‘I’m not super confident that my bags will even be transferred behind the scenes for tomorrow’s flight.’

"And lo and behold, when I got back, they did not make it here," he said.

It also took Mr O’Grady two and a half hours to get back through security at the London aviation hub, having left the airport to explore during his layover.

"I’ve travelled all around the world," he said. "I’ve never seen anything like this."

American Airlines flew Mr O’Grady’s main bag back two days later, which he picked up from the airport himself to avoid further delays.

His golf bag didn’t arrive until 15 July.

The Independent has contacted American Airlines for comment.