Because our baggage hadn't arrived with us on our arrival back in the UK I had been told at Heathrow that it would be couriered to our home the next day. Having dealt with Air France on numerous occasions with missing baggage I decided it would be best to pick it up myself from heathrow on the 31st on our way to spend New year with Ann and Kev in Kent.
On arrival at Heathrow there is first the nightmare gaining admission to airside to be able to pick up baggage from the claims office. Half an hour trying to get through to the right department on the phone and I spot an Air France official and persuade him to admit me through the security check area to the baggage hall where I present my paperwork to the man at the desk.
"Ah" he says after much tapping on his keyboard, "your baggage is not due until tomorrow 1/1/11 at 4:30pm" "Ok" I say "can you keep it here for me until tuesday the 4th when I will pick it up on my way up to visit family in Staffordshire.
Leaving Heathrow we head off to Kent to stay with Ann and Kev to see in the new year.
After some superb food (as always) and copious champagne we welcome in 2011.
The next day we travel into London to watch the new year parade and do some shopping in preparation for our trip to Norway which is now booked for tuesday 11th January.
The following day and we plan a bit of exercise with a walk along the beach at Dungeness, which if you've never been is a very strange place, lots of ramshackle fishing huts in the shadow of a nuclear power station.
Monday morning we wave goodbye and plan another attempt at getting back our luggage.
On arrival at Heathrows terminal 4 I again proceed to the security control area where I have to find someone from Air France to accompany me through the series of checks to the baggage claim office. There are six other people of various nationalities also waiting to use the phone to call through to the relevant office on "the other side".
An hour later sees us no further forward so I eventually find a security officer who I persuade to go through and tell someone from Air France that they have people waiting to pick up baggage in the arrivals hall.
After what seems like a lifetime the man appears and ushers three of us through the security door and through the various passport and search checks after which we are escorted into the baggage claims hall where we are greeted by about forty people queued at the baggage claims desk, the queue moves slowly for what seems an age until the little man who dealt with my origional claim spots me and beckons me over to his desk. "your baggage has arrived sir" he proudly informs me as if this is the first time it has ever happened (well it probably is, this year anyway). Minutes later and we're driving out of the airport perimeter on our way up to Staffordshire for a few days with family.
I fear that this isn't the end of our dealings with Air France as we will be trying to claim back expenses for our re-scheduled flights and loss of baggage.
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