Told to wait 5 days, Bengaluru man finds his lost bag at the airport in just 20 minutes. Here's how

A Bengaluru passenger travelling with Akasa Air shared how a small luggage mix-up on an airport bus turned into a quick recovery, thanks to a bit of luck and some smart thinking. In a now-viral Reddit post titled, “Lost my bag in an airport bus - Akasa told me 3–5 days, but I found it in 20 minutes,” the flyer described how the incident unfolded.

The passenger explained that while returning to Bengaluru, he had helped a fellow traveller struggling with excess baggage weight at the airport. Coincidentally, the same person ended up being his seatmate during the flight and, as it turned out, lived close by in HSR Layout. After landing, the two decided to take the airport bus together.

Recalling the incident, the passenger wrote, “I was flying back to Bengaluru a few days ago and helped a guy at the airport who was struggling with baggage weight and what he could carry.”

He added, “Coincidentally, he ended up being my seatmate on the flight, and even lived near me in HSR. We chatted and decided to take the airport bus together after landing.”

The trouble began when the passenger dozed off during the bus ride. “I had placed my black Safari bag under the seat in the centre luggage section and dozed off. One song later, I opened my eyes and my bag was gone,” he wrote. Instead, he spotted a shinier bag with a green stripe – clearly not his.

He immediately contacted Akasa Air, but the airline informed him that the process of tracing the luggage could take three to five days. With work starting soon, waiting wasn’t an option.

Acting quickly, he checked the luggage tag on the wrong bag, found the other passenger’s name and PNR, and used this information to access the airline’s website. From there, he retrieved the traveller’s phone number from the e-ticket and called him directly.

The person who had mistakenly taken the wrong bag apologised and offered to return it. Conveniently, he lived in Koramangala. The next day, at around 3:45 PM, the two met, and the bag was safely handed back.

Interestingly, while all this unfolded, the passenger received an email from Akasa stating that the recovery process would take three to five days to even begin.

Reflecting on the situation, the passenger shared, “No hero moment here - just a reminder that sometimes being calm and doing the obvious thing is more effective than waiting on a system.”

The post struck a chord with many online. One user commented, “All my bags have smart tags. I don’t trust airlines at all,” while another wrote, “Nicely done OP. Smart thinking.”

Some users questioned Akasa’s involvement in the incident, since the mix-up happened on an airport bus. Responding to this, the passenger explained, “Technically, it wasn’t their responsibility. But basic support from the airline could’ve helped escalate things quicker.”