Beyond just getting you through security and into your seat on the plane, there are a lot of systems that have to work together to get a flight off the ground with all its passengers and all their stuff. But when one important system went down at a major airport on Friday, American Airlines decided to fly a bunch of planes without luggage rather than delay or cancel flights.

The problem, reports IBTimes.com, was that the baggage conveyor belts at Miami International glitched out for eight hours on Friday, meaning thousands of pieces of checked luggage could not get out to the waiting planes.

Not only is MIA a large airport, it’s also a hub for American, meaning delayed or canceled flights out of Miami could cause a ripple effect that slowed down the airline’s global network.

“What would you expect them to do? We had to get passengers to where they were going,” a rep for the airline tells IBTimes.

So it’s understandable that AA would tell passengers, “Sorry, we’ve gotta go now, but your luggage will catch up to you.” Problem is, the airline didn’t let customers know their planes were in the air without all their bags.

It wasn’t until travelers arrived at their destinations and were greeted with empty baggage carousels that they were told about the snafu.

And there was further confusion as American couldn’t get its story straight. One traveler says she called AA to find out where her bags were and was told they’d been left behind because the plane had been overweight.

“That was completely ludicrous, because no one on the flight got their luggage,” says the passenger.

Some travelers were told to file claims for their delayed luggage, while others waited seven or more hours for their bags to finally arrive in destinations from Boston to Cozumel.

Thanks to Adam for the tip!

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