Martin Nievera asks Florida airline staff to be 'more sympathetic' after losing cash, cards

After recovering his lost bag without his cash and credit cards, Martin Nievera called on baggage claim staff at Fort Lauderdale airport to show more accommodation and sympathy toward passengers dealing with similar situations.

In his July 31 update, Nievera recalled accidentally leaving his bag on board a JetBlue flight from Las Vegas to Florida. He said he immediately sought help from the airline's ground crew less than a day later, but to no avail.

According to Nievera, the staff initially denied seeing his bag. However, one staff member went to the back to check after he activated the Tile tracker inside it.

After the bag was found, Nievera said nearly $3,000 (~P184,000) in cash and all of his credit cards were missing. He claimed staff only informed him afterward that cash found in lost items is documented and returned by check, while credit cards are shredded.

"The same people were there. They recognized me and they asked me to describe my bag. I described it. They said, I'm sorry, we have not seen any black bag and my bag, lo and behold, was ringing in the back of their counter. So, of course, they found the bag. They handed it to me and then there was no money and no credit cards inside," he said in the reel.

Nieverera added that he later received a message saying the airport would return $90 (P5,500) and the P3,350 found in his bag, but disputed the amount, saying he had nearly $3,000 in cash and no Philippine currency when he lost it.

"Long story short, more than two weeks pass and they finally text to ask me where they can send the money. The amount they said they were sending and were happy to have found was $90 and 3,350 pesos of Philippine currency. $90????? Pesos???? I didn’t even have pesos. Not vacationing in America anyway. AND that was not the amount! $90 is quite far from less than $3,000," he wrote in his caption.

He went on to say that while he could earn the lost money back, he was more concerned about being able to trust those responsible for handling passengers' belongings.

"It's fine. They can keep it. That's not much money. Again, the point is not the money, not the amount. I can earn that again, no problem. But the point is who are we supposed to trust if we can't trust the people who fly in the air, who take care of us on the ground. I would so hate for this to happen to anybody else whether I know you or not," he said.

He also urged baggage claim staff at Fort Lauderdale airport to be more accommodating and sympathetic.

"So, again, long story short, the bag has been found. The money is gone. We have no idea where it is. I do not blame the airline JetBlue. I will fly them again because they are very good. But this baggage claim counter in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, you guys really need to shape up," he stressed.

"If we're going to trust you with our lost bags, our lost valuables, please, please be more accommodating. Be more sympathetic [to] our problem," he added.

Nievera also encouraged the public to be more vigilant when traveling, acknowledging that leaving the bag behind was his own mistake while criticizing how the incident was handled.

"I was gonna let this JetBlue mishap go so I can go on with my life. It’s not the money, it’s the trust  and how just a couple of people can make a whole shiny and blue airline look terrible," he wrote.

"Again this was my fault for being an idiot and leaving my bag, but everyone who wears a JetBlue uniform or badge should really really represent the airline they work for better. Terrible experience. Lessons learned. Let’s move on," he concluded.