You got to your destination but your bag didn't. What now?

The winter storm that caused hundreds of flight delays and cancellations across the country over the weekend has mostly cleared, but the rows of suitcases lining the interior walls of the Ottawa airport have not.

CBC spoke with several travellers Tuesday who said their luggage didn't make it to their destination after their flights were delayed or rescheduled.

Hundreds of bags now sit at the Ottawa International Airport, waiting to be claimed by their owners, and according to Air Canada, that could take a few days.

The CBC's Ottawa Morning spoke with former Air Canada COO Duncan Dee Wednesday to find out what caused the buildup and how travellers can go about reclaiming their belongings. 

What caused the backlog?

Dee said severe winter weather impacted flights in and out of Canada's three largest air travel hubs — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — on the Friday before Christmas, historically the "heaviest travel day" of the holiday season.

"For Ottawa travellers, [it] really is extremely relevant, given the number of travellers from the Ottawa area — or that go to the Ottawa area — that touch on those three hubs."

Checked bags are more likely to be separated from their owners during connections, which Ottawa travellers often have in one of those three cities, Dee said.

Who is responsible?

Air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs told Radio-Canada during a recent interview that the airline is responsible for making sure luggage arrives on time.

Advocate says Airlines are responsible for baggage delay costs

2 years ago

Duration 0:42

Air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs said passengers are entitled to up to $2,300 for expenses incurred due to delayed baggage.

Dee echoed Lukacs' point, but added that the trip from the check-in desk to the baggage carousel "involves a lot of hand-offs."

"It also involves the use of infrastructure, which is controlled by, in many cases, the airport authority," he said, pointing to the example of delayed baggage at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, which has been partially attributed to frozen equipment.

"It's not just the bags that are destined for that particular airport," he said. "But it involves connecting bags, because bags coming in and then going back out were stuck on these baggage belts."

But Lukacs said the idea of the weather affecting the equipment "doesn't hold water."

"I've lived in Winnipeg. They have -30, -40 C [temperatures] there regularly," he said. "It's not like the conveyer belt would stop at that point."

Dee said the first thing travellers should do if their bag doesn't arrive is fill out a baggage claim form. Airlines will use the address and contact information on the form to return the bag to the customer.

Why is it taking so long to get my bag?

Dee said, in cases where it's taking more than a few days for your bag to arrive, it's likely that something has gone wrong, like a missing baggage tag.

"The bags that are without identification — those take a little bit more time," he said. "A lot of the airline staff end up becoming like detectives."

Am I entitled to compensation?

Lukacs said the airline is required to reimburse the passenger up to about $2,300 for expenses incurred due to delayed baggage.

"If the bag is not found within 21 days, it is deemed lost and at that point [and] the airline is required to compensate a passenger for the full content of the baggage."

Dee said travellers should keep an inventory of the items in their bags and keep any receipts for items they've purchased.

"If the bag ultimately never shows up, if the bag shows up and it is damaged because it was improperly stored or improperly handled, those are elements that could form a part of a traveller's claim."

The claim can then be submitted to the airline for reimbursement, Dee said.

Lukacs said if compensation is not offered, passengers should make a demand to the airline and consider legal action if  they don't respond within 30 days.