A Nashville, Tennessee, woman attempts to collect her luggage from the Spirit Airlines desk after a flight. She notices it’s closed—which is weird, because the sign on the door says it’s supposed to be open.
TikTok creator Shaundra (@mama_shaundra) posted a video about her experience on March 5. In the video, she walks up to the Spirit baggage office at the Nashville International Airport. The door is locked. “There’s my luggage,” she says, gesturing to a bag behind the locked door. “‘We are open from 2:30 to 9 p.m.’ It is 2:45 p.m.”
In the caption, Shaundra tagged Spirit Airlines and wrote, “I went to all the Spirit desks, and nobody was around.”
Viewers React to the Nashville Woman’s Spirit Baggage Situation
In the comments section of the video, viewers reacted to Shaundra’s Spirit Airlines baggage situation.
“That’s why I ship extra stuff for my trip to destinations and only travel with a carry-on,” said one viewer.
“Did you read the small print?” asked a second viewer. “It says ‘see ticket counter’ to help get your luggage.” Shaundra replied that she went to all the airport’s Spirit desks and couldn’t find anyone to help.
A third person joked, “To be fair … the employees probably weren’t expecting your Spirit flight to be on time.”
Spirit also responded in the comments section to tell Shaundra the company wanted to look into it for her.
What Should You Do in This Situation?
The Spirit Airlines Baggage Service Office at the Nashville International Airport is open when the carrier has flights scheduled. Ticket counters are supposed to be open from 3:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., so it seems like there was a staffing issue or another problem going on that afternoon.
When it comes to mishandled bags, Spirit recommends initiating a claim before leaving the airport and doing so within four hours of arrival for domestic flights and seven days for international flights. Travelers can also use the Baggage Service web portal to communicate with Spirit customer service.
At least Shaundra knows where her luggage is, even if she can’t grab it just yet. The internet is full of questions and concerns from travelers about the Spirit Airlines baggage fee schedule and stipulations and stories about lost or delayed baggage.
After one ordeal, a traveler posted to Reddit to urge others to never check bags on a Spirit Airlines flight if they have a connecting flight elsewhere.
Airlines must compensate passengers for incidental expenses incurred while their bags are delayed and are not allowed to set an arbitrary daily amount for interim expenses. A bag is usually considered “lost” between five and 14 days after the flight, but that number varies based on the airline.
If the Department of Transportation finds that an airline “unreasonably” refused to consider a bag lost for an unreasonable period of time, the airline could be subject to enforcement action.
AllHipHop contacted Shaundra via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted Spirit Airlines via email for comment. We will update this story if either party responds.