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Teacher helps find passengers' missing luggage by texting numbers on tags

Brittany Loubier-Vervisch said she texted at least 50 strangers to help locate their bag.

TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa Bay-area teacher helped lift holiday spirits amid the travel chaos caused by Southwest Airlines' woes earlier this week.

Brittany Loubier-Vervisch, a teacher at Tampa's Freedom High School, helped find passengers' luggage by texting numbers listed on their tags at Tampa International Airport.

"I would have just been waiting in the line like everyone else, but I thought I could do something productive," she said. 

The science instructor was attempting to get her luggage back after their flight to Tucson, Arizona, connecting from Denver was canceled. Already, she and her husband had to cancel a flight to Ohio because of the wintry weather.

At the time, the line to request help took hours, Loubier-Vervisch said. 

The pile of bags was something she'd never seen before, and Loubier-Vervisch felt for the employees working to support affected passengers. While scouring through the pile of bags in search of her own, she said she decided to text the numbers listed on the tags.

Loubier-Vervisch said she tried to reach at least 50 people through text. 

Credit: Brittany Loubier-Vervisch
Brittany Loubier-Vervisch poses with the famous Tampa International Airport flamingo.

"Some people mistook me for a Southwest employee," she said. "I was like, 'You don't understand. Like nothing is happening here. I'm just telling you where your luggage is.'"

Some numbers appeared to be landlines, however, others responded back to express their gratitude. 

"Seriously you've made my day and I appreciate you taking the time to text," one strange wrote back.

That same stranger ended up offering Loubier-Vervisch a gift card to Dunkin' Donuts.

Word of Loubier-Vervisch's act of kindness got around with multiple news outlets reporting on her good deed, including Business Insider. Meanwhile, another person tweeted a screenshot of their exchange, garnering thousands of likes. 

Loubier-Vervisch said she's surprised about the attention she's receiving for her act of kindness. 

"I hope other people help other people. That is my greatest hope," she said. 

She said she hopes it encourages other people to help in some way. That — and a reminder to put a phone number on luggage tags. When asked why she felt compelled to help, she said it's always been in her to look after others. That's why she chose to become a teacher. 

"Just be kind to people," she said. 

Loubier-Vervisch did end up finding her luggage. She ended up on a last-minute road trip to Miami.

A Tampa airport official confirmed there have been no reports of stolen luggage. Bags without their owners have been moved and secured on the third floor, with identification needed to claim them.

As of Thursday afternoon, Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,360 flights, or 58% of the airline's daily scheduled trips, according to FlightAware

That's more than 15,000 flights over the past week.

Southwest CEO Robert Jordan has since apologized and said it could be into the weekend before the airline's flight schedule returns to normal.

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