A Hong Kong woman has warned travelers to stay alert after her HK$9,000 suitcase went missing for five hours at the airport after returning from Okinawa, only to be found later badly damaged, according to Sing Tao Probe, a sister publication of The Standard.
The woman, surnamed F, said she arrived in Hong Kong with her family on Sunday evening (May 24), but could not locate her checked luggage at the baggage carousel, even after all other bags from the flight had been collected.
After seeking assistance from airport staff, she was told her baggage tag showed “no record,” leaving the suitcase temporarily untraceable.
At about 11pm, airport staff informed her that the luggage had been taken by another passenger and later returned. However, the suitcase had allegedly been cut open with a sharp object, leaving the zipper badly damaged.
The woman said the person who took the luggage was not from the same Okinawa flight, but from another flight using a baggage carousel some distance away.
She questioned how the suitcase could have been mistaken for someone else’s luggage, saying it carried obvious identifying marks and was protected by a combination lock.
“Even if someone believed it was their suitcase, discovering the lock could not be opened should have prompted them to check the luggage tag again instead of cutting it open immediately,” she said.
The woman said no valuables were stored inside the checked luggage, but she was upset over the damage to the expensive suitcase and the apparent disturbance of its contents.
She also claimed airport staff told her she could either contact the other party privately to settle the matter or seek compensation through insurance, adding that neither the airport nor the airline would provide reimbursement.
The woman later reported the incident to police and shared her experience online, urging travelers to remain cautious of theft at airports.
Travel expert Christy Leung previously advised travelers to place tracking devices such as AirTags inside their luggage and avoid using luxury or brand-new suitcases, saying thieves often target expensive baggage.
