Plane passengers caught in middle of bomb threat investigation still waiting for their bags

A week after threats were made of bombs on board three Germany-Calgary flights, passengers are still looking for their luggage.

A week after threats were made of bombs aboard their flights from Germany to Calgary, passengers are still without their checked bags.

On Sept. 15, Bethany and Jonathan Lagore were on their way home from Romania on Condor flight 2440 from Frankfurt.

The flight and two others from Germany were flagged after Canadian authorities received reports of bomb threats.

“We actually found out about that (the bomb threats) after we landed and were home,” said Bethany Lagore.

Flight 2440 landed safely away from the main tarmac along with the other flights, while the threats turned out to be “not credible.”

But the couple is still dealing with the aftermath.

“We’ve been home for a week, and I’m currently dealing with my surgery, and it’s been really, really frustrating,” said Lagore.

Lagore went to Romania for endometriosis surgery and says, along with clothing, she had items in her unreturned checked bags for her post-op.

Jonathan had clothes and some work items in his.

After the couple deboarded the plane, they were told by an airport staff member to fill out a sheet regarding their checked baggage.

They say a Condor staff member kept one of the sheets, and a staff member at the airport kept another.

“(No one) really said much, just that the bags would be delivered to us,” said Lagore.

After 24 hours, the couple reached out to the airport for assistance to locate the bags but were told it was the airline who was in charge of them.

“Since then, we’ve heard absolutely nothing from them; they (Condor) have not made any contact with us,” said Lagore.

“I have reached out every single day and have either been rerouted to phone numbers that are not assigned and not in service or agents that cannot help me at all.”

John Gradek, an aviation expert at McGill University, says due to the nature of the threat and because it involved an international flight, the investigation won’t get solved “really quickly.”

“There is a process and a protocol in place in terms of how you go about assessing the validity of a threat and looking at how real was that threat,” said Gradek.

“It seems that the threat was more than just a joke or prankster; there was definitely something that happened, and there was something that requires further investigation and an in-depth analysis of the bags on those three airplanes.”

Gradek says authorities stay tight-lipped when serious threats are being investigated.

CTV News reached out to Condor regarding the Lagores’ bags, and the airline asked to be provided with the couple’s luggage tag numbers.

After responding to the request, CTV News did not hear back.

The Calgary Police Service reiterated what was determined at the time of the incident—that there was no credible threat and there are no updates on the investigation.