Annapolis woman caught in Southwest Airlines debacle reunited with luggage lost on Christmas Eve

LINTHICUM, Md. - An Annapolis woman who was caught up in the Southwest Airlines debacle that left thousands of flights canceled across the county following a winter storm last weekend was finally able to claim her lost luggage that had been missing since Christmas Eve.

FOX 5's Bob Barnard spoke with Penelope at the baggage claim at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Tuesday just after she picked up her lost luggage.

Penelope, her son and other family members were on a Southwest flight that was delayed on Christmas Eve. The family took another airline back to Baltimore from Las Vegas.

"We got back Christmas morning, which was a day later than what we planned, so we weren't as bad as most people. But our bags were nowhere to be found," she said.

Penelope said she and her family tried to reach out to Southwest Airlines online and on social media but didn't get a response until Sunday when her son was notified. He picked up his bag Monday and Penelope claimed her luggage Tuesday morning.

"You don't know how much you miss having your bags with you and how dependent you are on the things you have in here," she said. Barnard counted 74 unclaimed bags remaining at the BWI baggage claim Tuesday morning.

Southwest Airlines returned to a relatively normal flight schedule over the weekend. Last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a letter to Southwest CEO Robert Jordan called the week of disruptions "unacceptable."

"While weather can disrupt flight schedules, the thousands of cancellations by Southwest in recent days have not been because of the weather," Buttigieg wrote. "Other airlines that experienced weather-related cancellations and delays due to the winter storm recovered relatively quickly, unlike Southwest."

The Associated Press contributed to this report