Hand-luggage with medication placed in hold without permission

jenniferLWilliams

I am doing some research before I use Resolver on a recent problem I have had with Norwegian Air and hope that you can help me to understand my rights both as a consumer and in relation to aviation safety.

I was leaving from Summer School in Oslo and the check-in people at the gate were extremely aggressive with me as my hand luggage looked too heavy. It fitted in their box but it weighed 4kg over the 10kg limit. I paid the 400 NOK (£37.00) but they were really rude and aggressive in the process by rushing me. I went to get my bag but they said that they would take my bag onto the plane and thought it was because it seemed too heavy for me to carry and they had other students luggage also.

Once the plane had taken off I asked the attendant where my bag was as I was really suffering with the pressure and needed my medication for TMJ (Temporomandibular joint disorder), and he asked me to speak to his colleague. When I asked for my bag the attendant started cursing and swearing that the people at the check-in saying it was in the hold and they shouldn't have done it, and he is going to have to make a report. The attendant gave me a couple of viles of Rhinox which is a nasal decongestants, however I require diclofenic / naproxene/ Amatryptilaline and in occasions where the TMJ really flares, Tramadol - basically pain killers and muscle relaxants.

I had no option but to sit for 2 hours in extreme pain without access to my medication and with the embarrassment of crying through the flight due to the serious discomfort, which lasted a good few days after. As is the case with TMJ you have to try your best at keeping relaxed to minimise the flare but the whole experience of the flight was very upsetting. To make matters worse I had only a 20 minute window to reach my next flight at a different terminal because I had to wait at the baggage reclaim section for 20 minutes.

I have searched online to help in my complaint but cannot find anything online for someone who has had a similar experience. In my case it was not life-threatening but the discomfort really could have been avoided if the check-in people had informed me that they were taking my hand-luggage.

With thanks
Jennifer

Vauban

This is the flight delay forum. You might get a better response if you post on the general holiday/flights forum here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28

FreeBear

jenniferLWilliams wrote: »

The attendant gave me a couple of viles of Rhinox which is a nasal decongestants, however I require diclofenic / naproxene/ Amatryptilaline and in occasions where the TMJ really flares, Tramadol - basically pain killers and muscle relaxants.

Errmmm... If Norwegian regulations are anything like the UK, a flight attendant can not prescribe any medication unless he/she is qualified to do so. What would they have done had you had a bad reaction to the Rhinox ?

As a first aider, I am not permitted to give even something as simple as an asprin to anyone - This is something that is drummed in to us at every stage of training.

DrA_Harrogate

As mooted above, this was not a flight delay and is not covered by those regulations. Resolver is free and so worth a go but I fear your efforts may not bear fruit. Some questions for you to consider - do the NA regs state they can put overweight baggage in the hold? Is there a written record of your having medication therein? Do you think you will have to take action in Civil Courts in Norway? Do you have medical evidence of damage and suffering?

Caz3121

I wonder if some of this confusion was due to language differences
hand luggage needs to fit the size and weight
the bag was too heavy to qualify as hand luggage so became hold luggage and the applicable fee was paid to have the bag placed in the hold with the other hold baggage
Passenger believed their bag was being carried to the plane for them to be placed in the cabin rather than taken to the plane to be placed in the hold so did not think to remove their medication as thought they would have access to it on board

they said that they would take my bag onto the plane and thought it was because it seemed too heavy for me to carry

Process should have been
bag too heavy for hand luggage > need to pay for it to go in hold > ok here is the money and I just need to take a few things out first....
There is no fee payable to be able to take overweight hand luggage on board so this seems to have been the root of the confusion
(obviously it helps to avoid this by sticking to the airlines weight limits for cabin baggage)

leylandsunaddict

If hand luggage is found to be overweight you pay to have it checked into the hold, which is what happened to yours. It's standard practice. If it was a permissible weight to have in the cabin you wouldn't have been charged, and they wouldn't have taken it off you. There is no facility to pay to take overweight hand luggage into the cabin. Gate agents do not carry your bags for you just because they think they're too heavy for you to manage!

With lot's of gate agents you've got to be quick and tell them that you need to remove meds or valuables, but generally you've got to initiate that conversation yourself. The gate agents are only there to board the flight, and as quickly as possible. It's not really part of their job to check with everyone who's bag is overweight whether they need to remove any items.

The answer is really is to stick to the airline rules, and not try to buck the system by taking overweight luggage.

jenniferLWilliams

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your help and comments.
J

GwylimT

FreeBear wrote: »

Errmmm... If Norwegian regulations are anything like the UK, a flight attendant can not prescribe any medication unless he/she is qualified to do so. What would they have done had you had a bad reaction to the Rhinox ?

As a first aider, I am not permitted to give even something as simple as an asprin to anyone - This is something that is drummed in to us at every stage of training.

Flight attendants can give non-prescription medication, they can also give prescription medication after consulting a doctor on the aviation medical switch board.

Aspirin can be given by first aiders if they suspect the casualty has suffered a heart attack.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/faqs.htm