Suspected thieves took bags at Sacramento airport amid Southwest flight chaos
Four people are being sought after allegedly stealing luggage this week from Sacramento International Airport, apparently taking advantage of Southwest Airlines’ ongoing flight cancellation mess to do so, authorities said.
Two male and two female suspects were allegedly seen early Monday rummaging through travelers’ luggage, with one of the female suspects seen making off with at least two roller bags before all four fled in a white Dodge pickup truck, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi said Thursday.
The four suspects were seen about 4:30 a.m. Monday, “roaming the area looking at the extra bags due to canceled flights,” Gandhi said.
Surveillance photos showed the Dodge at one of the airport’s drop-off zones, with what appear to be several bags in the bed of the pickup. The license plate number is not visible.
One of the two women was spotted leaving with two roller bags before the four drove away in the Dodge, according to Gandhi. The suspects then drove to another area at the airport, where they “rummaged” through the bags, dumping some of the items, he said.
Southwest Airlines has canceled thousands of flights this week, in the wake of a Christmas weekend winter storm that swept through most of the contiguous U.S. and created a meltdown in the airline’s scheduling system.
While other major airlines have since recovered from the storm with minimal disruptions by midweek, Southwest on Wednesday canceled more than 2,300 flights for a third consecutive day, according to flight tracking website Flight Aware.
Sacramento International is one of the nation’s airports most affected by the cancellation meltdown, Flight Aware data show.
Travelers have posted photos to social media since Sunday showing huge piles of baggage at the Sacramento airport.
What to do if your Southwest baggage is missing or stolen
Someone who is missing a piece of luggage may not know whether it was stolen or lost.
Southwest Airlines on its website says travelers whose bags are not located after five days should download a claim form from the airline’s customer portal webpage.
Those who are missing luggage from flights between Dec. 20 and Dec. 27, amid the recent Southwest cancellation issues, are asked to visit a separate webpage, www.southwest.com/baginfo.
Travelers may choose to purchase a GPS luggage tracker to access real-time location information for their bags, which may be used to help determine whether they are lost or stolen.
Travelers who believe their bag or the contents within the bag have been stolen should file a police report.
Sacramento International Airport has a lost and found, which can be contacted by phone at 916-874-0701 or Air-SMFLostAndFound@saccounty.net.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 12:00 PM.
