Jetstar Flight Lands In Rarotonga Without Passenger Luggage

Earlier this week, multiple Jetstar passengers arrived in the Cook Islands from New Zealand without their luggage. Flight JQ129 arrived at Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), the main international gateway to the South Pacific island nation, while multiple bags were left behind in Auckland.

According to the airline, the Airbus A320 needed to carry more fuel due to weather conditions en route, which meant that an unspecified number of bags had to be offloaded in order to keep the aircraft’s total weight within safe operating limits.

The flight departed Auckland Airport (AKL) at 15:54, touching down slightly late in Rarotonga three hours and 40 minutes later. However, several passengers then received a nasty surprise at baggage reclaim when their luggage did not appear, with one unlucky passenger quoted by the local newspaper Cook Islands News as saying,

“A huge amount of luggage didn’t arrive with passengers; what’s everyone doing, and how successful has anyone been? Hugely frustrating as [we] can’t get hold of Jetstar.”

An apology from Jetstar

In a statement issued by the airline’s Senior Manager for External Communications, James Hancock, the airline apologized for the incident, saying,

“We couldn’t carry some passengers’ bags on JQ129 between Auckland and Rarotonga on Tuesday, 2 May 2023, due to weather-related weight restrictions. We know how annoying and inconvenient this must be for those affected, and we’re sorry for the time it’s taken to deliver their bags. Our customer team is working to deliver their bags as soon as possible and is reaching out to apologize and support those affected. We’re working to fly the bags to affected customers asap.”

The affected passengers would have likely had to wait at least two days to be reunited with their luggage, as Jetstar’s next flight from Auckland to Rarotonga was not until May 4th.

Jetstar’s increased presence in the Cook Islands

Jetstar currently flies three times per week between Auckland and Rarotonga, operated by the Airbus A320. On June 29th, the airline, a subsidiary of Qantas, is also due to launch three weekly services from Sydney. On the Auckland to Rarotonga route, Jetstar faces significant competition from Air New Zealand, which operates up to 11 flights per week, with both the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

Jetstar currently has 55 Airbus A320s in its fleet, each carrying up to 180 or 186 passengers, depending on the seating configuration. The airline’s older Airbus A320s are due to be phased out with the imminent arrival of the Airbus A320neo.

Flight JQ129 on May 2nd was operated by the aircraft VH-VGU, which was delivered new to Jetstar in March 2010, according to data from ch-aviation.com. Earlier that day, the aircraft had already made the return hop across the Tasman Sea from Auckland to Gold Coast (OOL).

Have you ever arrived at your destination without your luggage? How long did it take for you to get it back? Share your experiences by commenting below.

Sources: Cook Islands News, FlightRadar24.com, ch-aviation.com