Unclaimed baggage piles up at Reagan National after canceled flights

Unclaimed luggage piled up near baggage carousels at Reagan National Airport. (WTOP/Dick Uliano)

Baggage piled up at Reagan National Airport Wednesday after many canceled flights earlier this week.

At several baggage carousels, luggage was neatly lined up and ready to be reunited with travelers diverted from their original travel plans.

“We were flying back home from Salt Lake City, Utah, and we were connecting in Dallas, and then I think the airport (Reagan) closed down a bit because of the weather,” said Sarah Randall of Vienna, Virginia, whose family of six had to spend Monday night in Dallas.

On Wednesday, Randall headed back to the baggage claim area to retrieve six bags after her family returned home Tuesday.

Baggage backup at Reagan National Airport

Monday’s snowstorm and pandemic-caused shortages of airline workers produced a holiday season-high of flight cancellations earlier this week.

Sirak Betru of Rockville, Maryland, returned to the D.C. area on Tuesday following a trip to Oklahoma City. He spent two hours Tuesday searching for his bag and then returned to the airport to find it Wednesday.

“Well, it’s kind of frustrating a little bit, but in light of we’re in a pandemic, and there’s a shortage of workers now, I was able to find my luggage,” Betru said. “I guess, in the end, it worked out.”

Dick Uliano

Whether anchoring the news inside the Glass-Enclosed Nerve Center or reporting from the scene in Maryland, Virginia or the District, Dick Uliano is always looking for the stories that really impact people's lives.

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