Representatives of Hawaiian Airlines were questioned regarding lost luggage on incoming Hawaiian Airlines flights at a hearing of the Senate Transportation Committee yesterday.
And according to them, the problem is not the airline losing people’s luggage, rather people taking other travelers’ luggage thinking its their own.
Acting Station Manager for Hawaiian Airlines, Sia Burgos and Lama Haretuku, who is in charge of the World Tracer System which tracks missing luggage, along with Deputy Director of Port Administration, Tumua Matuu were witnesses at the hearing.
The airline representatives explained that it’s the traveler’s responsibility, not the airline’s, to check that the luggage they take home is their own.
They told the hearing that while there have been posts on social media about lost luggage, it’s mostly situations where people take others’ luggage by mistake. But all such cases are resolved when people return the mistaken luggage to the Hawaiian Air office. 
It was also explained that for connecting flights from the US, even though a traveler checks their luggage all the way to Pago Pago, sometimes there’s an off load in Hawaii to allow more passengers on the flight.
Haretuku explained that claims of lost luggage go through what’s called a World Tracer system, which all US airlines are in. Tags and descriptions of the missing luggage will be traced back to the airline that was used by the traveler.
She said when the luggage is located, it is usually put on the next flight to Pago Pago.
The airline reps said some containers do not have tags and Hawaiian Air will not load anything without a tag.
There are also cases where travelers leave the airport without taking their luggage home on the night of arrival. According to Burgos, the luggage would be left on the carousel and the next day the owners would come pick them up.
Haretuku advised that travelers take the time to identify their luggage to distinguish them from others to make it easier to locate upon arrival, or when they go missing.
