Caribbean Airlines Under Fire: Passengers slam seat changes, baggage mishandling issues

Caribbean Airlines is facing backlash from frustrated passengers who allege that the air carrier has developed a troubling pattern of changing pre-selected seats without consent as well as mishandling their luggage. 

According to a passenger who on August 22 travelled with the Caribbean region’s regional airline from Guyana to Trinidad, the problem occurred even when flights are booked months in advance and passengers are given the choice to choose their own seats. 

“I tried to address an issue that has been ongoing with Caribbean Airlines. Caribbean Airlines is in the habit of leaving their passengers bags behind, and I would go so far as to say Swissport on behalf of Caribbean Airlines. And I think this is not being fully addressed by Caribbean Airlines,” he said through a video message which is now surfacing online and was initially posted on Facebook by Trinidad’s local TV host Ian Alleyne. 

In the video, the passenger is claiming that while check-in agents reportedly issue boarding passes with the selected seats, several passengers are shocked to find that their seating is clandestinely changed at the boarding gate.  

The passenger complained, “It also happened to my friends who for the first time had gone to Guyana and to came back to Trinidad, experiencing such an unfortunate event.” 

According to the passenger, when it is time to board, the staff scan the pass, and it suddenly beeps following which passengers are told that their seat has been changed. “This happens without approval, and it tears families apart when they specifically booked seats to sit together,” he said. 

The issue, they claim, is widespread and allegedly enabled by the airline’s systems. The practice has been described as ‘disrespectful, wicked, deceitful and inconsiderate’. 

In addition to this, the airline has been accused of mishandling the luggage as one of the passengers said that they arrived at their destination with none of their clothing and called it the last straw after several negative experiences.  

The passenger in the online video alleged that the same issue happened with several people on that flight as almost three quarter of the flight bags were left back in Guyana on August 22. “Now I am in Guyana here and the passengers that left on BW two, three, eight, the vast majority of them, their bags actually were left back at Piarco International Airport,” he further said. 

With the issues coming up continuously, the passengers are saying that they are at their wit’ end with what they described as the ‘dirty habits of doing what they want with passengers’ of Caribbean Airlines.