Spirit Airlines has had to pay off a passenger in Fort Lauderdale, FL after her luggage was “lost.” The woman’s Apple Watch notified her that the MacBook Pro that was inside the luggage was sitting in a nearby house.
Florida’s Local10 News:
Paola Garcia stood at Carousel 4 inside Terminal 4 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport watching fellow passengers retrieve their luggage.
She was in a panic.
“In my mind, I’m thinking I need my computer because I go to the university, I need my computer no matter what,” Garcia said. “I was waiting there at least two hours.”
Garcia said she always carries her pink hard-shell suitcase onboard with her, but this time she said she was forced to check it, and the suitcase never arrived at the conveyor belt.
That’s because as she was waiting, according to an arrest affidavit and pictures, 29-year-old Junior Bazile apparently had her suitcase in the back of an airport retail store where he worked.
In the baggage were a MacBook Pro, an iPad, jewelry, designer clothes, and a pair of Apple Watches.
Spirit Airlines told Garcia they would send the luggage to her home once it was found.
Spirit Airlines told Garcia her luggage would be sent to her house when it was found. The next day, she received an alert on her (third) Apple Watch. The alert said her MacBook Pro or iPad had been left behind, and were last seen at a particular location.
But the next morning, her Apple watch was sending a signal, but not from the airport.
“So you’re at home and your watch is pinging at a house in Fort Lauderdale?” asked Local 10 News’ Jeff Weinsier.
“Fifteen minutes from the airport,” Garcia answered.
“So you decided to go to this house?” Weinsier asked.
“Yes, because I said how can Spirit deliver my suitcase there,” she said. “Yes, because I needed my computer. I have test that day.”
The Apple watch signal was coming from a house at 1017 NW 11th Ct.
Garcia went to the residence, where she saw luggage scattered around the home. She called police.
A Broward Sheriff’s Office detective checked the address of the house against an internal airport database and found 29-year-old Junior Bazile, who worked for a company that operates retail stores inside the airport.
Bazile was working the day Garcia’s suitcase was stolen. He was arrested and charged with grand theft.
By the time Bazile was taken into custody he had reportedly gotten rid of most of Garcia’s items.
Although Spirit Airlines refunded Garcia for the items, it says it is not responsible for the luggage theft.
“We issued a reimbursement check to the guest as a courtesy, even though we are not currently aware of any evidence that any Spirit employee was involved,” said an airline spokesperson. “We take any allegation of this nature seriously, and we are investigating.”