Suitcases in good condition, still bearing flight tags and barcode stickers from Ben-Gurion Airport’s security check, were put up for sale at a second-hand market in Paphos, Cyprus. Liri Burak-Shavit, a protest photographer who frequently travels between Israel and Cyprus, came across them this week - and the sight immediately reminded her of the piles of luggage she had documented at the airport in recent months.
"Someone might still recognize their suitcase there," she told Walla, while emphasizing: "We don't know what happened there."
The weekly flea market in Paphos takes place on Sundays, offering second-hand items for sale. This time, however, among the items on display, a collection of suitcases in good condition stood out, still carrying flight tags and security check markings from Ben-Gurion Airport.
Burak-Shavit, a social activist and protest documenter, posted photos from the scene and wondered if this could be the lost luggage of Israeli passengers. Initially, she believed they were El Al suitcases, but it later became clear that the markings primarily indicated that the bags had passed through Ben-Gurion Airport security - not necessarily that they were flown with El Al.
'I saw unclaimed suitcases everywhere'
"Remember the Ben Gurion Airport strike?" she wrote in a post. "Remember the piles of suitcases left outside and photographed this week dumped outside the airport? I was there and saw countless unclaimed suitcases."
According to her, the sight at the Paphos flea market immediately brought back memories of the images she had documented in Israel over recent months.
"At the Paphos flea market in Cyprus - where second-hand goods are brought out every Sunday - this time, to my great surprise, there were suitcases in great condition with El Al tags. Quite possibly belonging to Israeli passengers who didn't receive their luggage. What a coincidence."
In a conversation with Walla, Burak-Shavit shared that throughout July and August, she repeatedly documented the congestion and disruptions at Ben-Gurion Airport. During that time, she saw large quantities of unclaimed luggage both inside the passenger terminal and outside, exposed to the elements.
"It's clear to me that there are tons of suitcases just sitting there, both outside in the sun and inside the hall," she said. "People are surely looking for their luggage and would never imagine it could end up in a place like this. Suddenly seeing all these suitcases at the market was a jarring sight."
Burak-Shavit and her husband are familiar with the Paphos second-hand market from their frequent visits to the island, which is why the collection of suitcases immediately caught their attention.
"It's not something you usually see there, certainly not in that quantity," she recalled. "They had tags on them, and the suitcases were in good condition. It didn't look like regular flea market stock."
Will anyone recognize their suitcase?
Despite the photos and the unusual sight, there is currently no evidence proving that the suitcases found in Paphos are the same ones left at Ben-Gurion Airport during the period of disruptions. It remains unknown who they belonged to, how they arrived in Cyprus, or who brought them to the market.
"If someone who was supposed to receive a suitcase after the strike sees the post, maybe they'll recognize their bag there," Burak-Shavit said.
"I don't know what happened there," she added. "I have no explanation. It's a bit strange that suitcases like these end up in Cyprus."
Meanwhile, the photos raise an intriguing question: How did suitcases with flight tags and security markings from Israel make their way to a second-hand market in Paphos - and is this merely a coincidence, or luggage belonging to passengers who are still searching for their lost bags?