Bags Lost, Thousands of Tourists Freezing in Lapland

Over the past couple of weeks, around 20,000 visitors arrived in Lapland without their bags. Often the luggage has shown up just as they were leaving.

"We've had to take care of customers' lost luggage issues the whole time. It's natural that they would turn to us for help," says receptionist Arja Haapakorva from Rovaniemi's City Hotel.

"Thankfully Rovaniemi's tour operators came to the rescue, and provided warm overalls to our freezing customers."

In -20 Degrees, Retailers Sell Big

Temperatures in Lapland have dropped below -20 degrees Celsius while the luggage fiasco has been going on at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Sports outfitters in Lapland have made a killing selling shivering visitors complete kit, from long underwear to parkas and everything in between.

"When you have nothing, it's understandable that you buy everything," says Hanna Uusitalo, a salesperson at City Sport in Rovaniemi.

For other visitors, the lost luggage is even more serious that being literally caught out in the cold.

Lost Luggage Threatens Health

"Our daughter has asthma and the rest of her medication is in the suitcase. How are we going to manage? We don't have a prescription in force in Finland," says Miguel Cardoso, from Portugal. His family of six has been without their bags for days. They say Finnair does not even know where their luggage is.

At the beginning of the week, around 4,000 bags were orphaned at the airport. There are still 100-200 bags stranded at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, but these should be delivered by the end of the week.

Finnair blames the baggage pileup on the snowy conditions. However, luggage-handling union representatives point the finger at staff shortages due to layoffs.