Left my wallet on an EasyJet flight. Customer services refusing to help me. Any ideas?

christiani

Hey everyone,

I recently flew to Barcelona, and left my wallet on the flight back to London. I went straight to the support desk at Gatwick airport, and the staff stated the flight had already left. They also said that they usually have to check the plane before it flies again, but “obviously haven’t, as they would have returned your wallet”.

I contacted the phone helpline, who forwarded me to the lost luggage company that deals with lost luggage. There has been no update on the case they opened almost 2 months ago now. I phoned EasyJet again, who stated that I needed to find out where my plane flew to next, in order to be able to contact that airport, and see if they have my wallet. When I asked them if they could tell me, they said they “don’t have access to that sensitive information. I have now sent 2 complains, via email, to EasyJet, and they haven’t even been bothered to reply.

What would people suggest I do next? I’m at my wits end with it, and am about to give up 🤦!♂️

Doshwaster

To be honest, I would just give up. I left a wallet on a plane a couple of years ago and never saw it again. Airline said it was the airport's problem and the airport said it was the airline's problem. Maybe one the cleaners took it, maybe it was another passenger. Who knows?

Just put it down to experience - triple check that you have everything before getting on/off the plane, don't carry a lot of cash and make sure that you have a spare card elsewhere in case your wallet gets lost or stolen on your travels.

dj1471

It's easy to find out where the plane went to next, search here for your flight number and find the right day:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data

Then click on the aircraft registration and find where it went on departure from Gatwick following your flight.

But as stated your chances are slim, there's no guarantee it was found at the next airport it went to - maybe someone took it, maybe it was found five flights later, maybe it went inside the seat and is still there.

agrinnall

It'll probably never appear, but I lost my wallet at a hospital earlier this year, and about 3 weeks later they rang me up to say it had been handed in, minus the cash but with all the cards still present. Obviously I'd already cancelled all the important cards by then but there were a couple that I hadn't bothered with so it was nice to get them back.

maisie_cat

I know somebody who works for BA at Heathrow, anything valuable left on planes is taken home by staff. When I challenged him he said that as "everybody" does it it's okay, apparently honesty and integrity is for wimps. I give up

Westin

DHL is the ground handling agent at Gatwick for EasyJet.

The crew would normally do a security search of the aircraft cabin during a turnaround or following a crew change. Found items would be given to the Turnaround Coordinator/Dispatcher. Always a chance that if well tucked down the pocket then it was not immediately found - or another passenger took it.

Items of value then taken by the Turnaround Coordinator to the crew room and those of value placed in the safe until they can be processed (someone found to take them to lost property). Might not be immediately as they often have back-to-back flights to attend to. Could actually be days later as staff often have to do this at quiet times or even after their shift ends. If the forgotten item is something like a book, or food, it gets binned. Items of value however are then given to the airport lost property agent - Global Baggage Solutions, to await claim. I don’t believe they actively try to track down the owner, instead the owner needs to contact them. GBS will charge a storage fee and a recovery fee.

Might be an idea to contact Global Baggage Solutions to see if they have your wallet. Contact details here -
https://gbsenquires.com/lost-property/london-gatwick/

Westin

maisie_cat wrote: »

I know somebody who works for BA at Heathrow, anything valuable left on planes is taken home by staff. When I challenged him he said that as "everybody" does it it's okay, apparently honesty and integrity is for wimps. I give up

I find this difficult to believe. If discovered it would certainly be a sackable offence and the person would lose their airside pass credentials and would not be able to work at an airport again. Perhaps one or two dishonest people, a very very small percentage of airside staff, not “everyone”.

Mr.Generous

I wouldn't hold too much hope that the cabin secure check would find your wallet, budget airline cabin crew are not given anywhere near enough time to check properly. Probably found by the net passenger. Pot luck whether they hand it in or keep it.

When my daughter was working as cabin crew she found stuff like passports on board that when they checked passenger lists had been left 3 days ago - so all the cabin secure checks in between had been cursory glances. Worrying from a security point of view.

melanzana

Sorry for your trouble, but I personally would just take it on the chin. Cancel all cards etc.

I doubt you will get it back.

Lesson learned I suppose, but why was your wallet out of your pocket anyway could I ask?

Westin

Indeed Mr Generous. On a 25 minute turn around, by the time the last passengers are off, the next load of passengers are normally tapping their feet impatiently on the jetty waiting to board. On time performance and cheap flights vs. comprehensive cabin security checks and cleaning.