An American Airlines passenger complained that the airline made people check bags to clear out overloaded overhead compartments, then lost the luggage on the way

• A passenger said American Airlines claimed the plane's overhead compartments were full.
• But the passenger claimed "half of the plane's overheads flew empty" during the flight.

An American Airlines passenger accused the airline of asking people to check their bags to clear out the overhead compartments, only for the luggage to go missing on the way.

The passenger recounted the incident in an August 17 post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The passenger, who did not provide their name or contact information in the post, added that the incident occurred on flight AA1733 from Milwaukee to Dallas on August 17.

In the post, the passenger said American Airlines made people check in their carry-on bags, with staff claiming that the plane's overhead compartments were full.

However, the passenger later discovered that "half the plane's overheads flew empty." The passenger included a photo of a row of empty overhead compartments in their post on X.

The passenger added that none of their checked bags made it to their destination.

A representative for American Airlines replied to the passenger's post, and asked for the passenger's flight record locator so the airline could investigate the matter.

American Airlines was ranked in August 2022 as having the worst record with mishandled baggage out of all the US carriers.

And in July 2022, a North Carolina woman who flew American Airlines to the Dominican Republic said she was forced to pay for necessities out-of-pocket after the airline lost her luggage for a month.

Representatives for American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.