Eurowings A320 diverts to Toulouse over unaccompanied bag

A Eurowings Airbus A320 flying from Ibiza to Düsseldorf diverted to Toulouse after a bag was found on board without its owner, the airline said. The aircraft is registered D-ABZN.

The flight, EW9503 on Wednesday 9 September, had already left Ibiza when the discrepancy was found. A spokesperson for the Lufthansa subsidiary told aeroTELEGRAPH the bag was loaded because of an error during loading.

Under EU regulation 2015/1998, hold baggage counts as unaccompanied when the passenger it is assigned to is not on board. Such baggage must be removed and screened again before being loaded a second time.

The rule dates to the bombing of Pan Am flight 747 over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988, which killed 270 people. A plastic explosive device detonated on board and broke the fuselage apart. The owner of the suitcase had not travelled with the flight.

The unscheduled landing in Toulouse caused a delay that had further consequences, the report said. It did not specify how long the delay lasted or how many passengers were on board.