Jetstar leaves passenger's bag with cancer medication behind: 'Pandemonium'

A man travelling from Australia to New Zealand has been left without his cancer medication after his Jetstar plane took off without 50 bags.

The man flew from the Gold Coast to Christchurch, arriving early on Friday, to visit his family but soon found out he was missing his luggage containing the vital medication.

His brother, Stephen Stuart, told Stuff.co.nz it was staff who advised him to put the medicine in his checked luggage.

Mr Stuart said it was “pandemonium” at the airport when it became apparent how many passengers had their bags missing.

A Jetstar plane takes off
Jetstar left dozens of bags behind, including one that contained important cancer medication. Source: Getty/File

In the chaos they were unable to get a case number for their missing bags and were left on hold to the airline’s call centre.

“They make an art form of not being able to be contacted,” Mr Stuart said. “There is probably quite a few grumpy people around.”

In a statement, Jetstar said the bags were placed on the next direct flight.

"Due to a change in weather conditions, an additional payload restriction was placed on our flight from Gold Coast to Christchurch.

"Unfortunately, this meant a number of bags were unable to be uplifted. These bags were place on the next direct flight from Gold Coast to Christchurch and are being delivered to passengers this morning.

"We apologise for the inconvenience and thank our passengers for their understanding."

Mr Stuart’s brother couldn't wait until Sunday and visited a doctor to get more medication.

Jetstar’s $4500 check-in blunder

Earlier this month, another Jetstar passenger had issues when checking in her luggage after she was charged $4500 instead of $45.

Jannine Meyers was flying from Auckland to Christchurch at the time of the incident and said the “extremely frustrating” experience took weeks to be rectified.

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