Airline loses Australian comic Michelle Brasier’s equipment – despite bags being just 50 metres away

An Australian comedian flying to a major gig is at war with an airline after it lost her bags despite AirTags showing they were just metres away.

An Australian comedian has found herself in travel hell after vital equipment for a gig went missing despite a tracking device showing the bags were in the airport she had landed in.

Michelle Brasier was left dumbfounded when staff refused to fetch her bags even though her

Apple AirTags indicated the bags were just metres from her at Edinburgh Airport, in the UK.

Brasier, who is a regular on Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell on the ABC and has also appeared on sitcom Utopia and Drunk History Australia, said the bag fiasco has put her Edinburgh Fringe Festival show in doubt, which should debut on Wednesday, UK time.

Michelle Brasier and partner Tim Lancaster in front of one her posters in Edinburgh. Picture: Instagram.

But her bags and the show’s equipment is missing. Picture: Instagram.

She was flying to the huge Scottish festival, one of the world’s biggest comedy showcases, with partner Tim Lancaster and backing musician Jordan White.

The show, called Reform, is described as “cautionary tale of an online scam and the urge to empathise with, understand, and become the emergency contacts of those who have done us wrong”.

But many of the musical instruments, including a trombone and drum kit, the group needed for the show have yet to be delivered to them.

Brasier’s luggage failed to make onto a KLM flight. (Photo by THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP)

The trip from Australia began drama free with an Etihad flight to the Netherlands via Abu Dhabi.

But things went downhill when Brasier flew into Edinburgh from Amsterdam on Dutch airline KLM on July 29.

Their luggage had not followed them to Scotland.

‘They’re right there’

AirTags, which are small tracking devices, indicated the bags were still in Amsterdam. They later then made their way to Edinburgh Airport.

However, frustratingly, Brasier was still unable to get her personal belongings or musical instruments.

That’s even though the AirTags showed they were just 50 metres from where she was standing in the terminal.

“A lovely man who worked at the airport tried to help us but he didn’t have the authority to go and get our bags for us,” Brasier told the Edinburgh Evening News.

“We begged, ‘please just let us go grab them, they’re right there! We just want to do our little show!’

“But he wasn’t allowed to, and wasn’t able to go and get anyone with more authority to help us.

“I get that everyone has systems they have to follow, but surely there has to be some common sense used too.”

She added that this was “the kind of problem when you remove real people and we can only communicate with chat bots”.

Michelle Brasier is due to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe, one of the world’s largest arts festivals. Picture: iStock

Metres away - for three days

Brasier said the bag handling company Swissport had ghosted her while KLM said the bags would be delivered once they were located.

But, she pointed out, she knew where they were and they’d languished at the airport for three days.

She even took to Twitter asking if anyone in Edinburgh knew someone who worked for the airport, Swissport or KLM.

“My bags are just sitting in the airport and they won’t give them to meeeee,” she said.

Edinburgh! Do you have a friend of a friend who works in the airport - airside in particular would be grand - but anywhere. Or for Swissport? Or KLM airlines? My bags are just sitting in the airport and they won’t give them to meeeee.

— Michelle Brasier (@michellebrasier) August 1, 2023

Brasier said it was “clear the staff on the ground at Edinburgh Airport need more support”.

The trio had managed to scrape together some instruments loaned from other performers.

Bag handlers Swissport said: “We are sincerely sorry to hear about these passengers’ experience and recognise how frustrating it is. We are in direct contact with Michelle and her team and are working hard to reunite them with their luggage”.