American Airlines travelers report waiting hours for luggage at PHL Airport

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Dozens of American Airlines travelers say they were forced to wait hours for their bags after landing at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday night -- and many never even got their hands on their luggage.

Passengers traveling from Seattle, Washington told CBS News Philadelphia they were initially notified that there weren't enough crew members to land to their plane, and the flight was forced to taxi around for about 25 minutes before parking at the gate.

Once off the plane, passenger Roy Gettle said travelers waited hours for their bags to show up in Terminal C.

"There were people waiting four hours for their bags," he said. "They say that's the way it is. They won't tell us why or what's going on. But then you'll get a flight come in and they get their bags right away. So I have no idea what's going on."

"We just want to get our bags and go home," another passenger, Dennis Markopoulos, said Saturday night. "We've been here now, it looks like about two and a half, three hours. And no word."

Some travelers said their bags never showed up, and when American Airlines offered to ship their bags home for them, learned they live outside the 150 mile radius for shipping.

"It's tough to get answers," said Tommy Morello, who lives in Tacoma, Washington and traveled to Philadelphia to visit family. "Evidently they'll have our bags sent to us, but I kind of feel more comfortable just waiting for it," he said.

More than 100 unclaimed bags were still piled up inside Terminal C Sunday morning. According to a worker at the airport, there weren't enough employees to unload three flights of worth luggage that arrived Saturday night. PHL Airport says airlines are responsible for baggage issues.

CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to Philadelphia International Airport and American Airlines for more information, and is working to confirm if those bags belong to the passengers who were unable to claim their luggage last night.