Martin Nievera shares update on missing bag, questions handling of lost belongings

Concert King Martin Nievera has finally shared an update on the bag he accidentally left aboard a JetBlue flight in the United States, revealing that while he was able to recover the luggage, thousands of dollars in cash and his credit cards were no longer inside.

In a Facebook post, Nievera recounted that he left his bag on JetBlue Flight #1708 from Las Vegas to Fort Lauderdale on 4 July. Using a Tile tracking device kept in his wallet, he spent the night tracing the bag’s location before locating it the following morning.

According to the singer, airline personnel initially told him that the description of his bag did not match any unclaimed item. It was only after his girlfriend activated the Tile alarm that the device began ringing from behind the same counter where they had been told no such bag had been found.

When the bag was finally returned, Nievera said nearly $3,000 in cash and all of his credit cards were missing.

He claimed airline staff later explained that cash found inside lost property is typically withheld and sent to the owner later by check, while credit cards are destroyed as part of standard procedure. However, Nievera questioned why those measures were applied even though he recovered the bag in less than 24 hours.

More than two weeks later, he said he received a message asking where the recovered money should be sent. The amount, however, came as another surprise.

“They said they were sending $90 and 3,350 pesos of Philippine currency. $90????? Pesos???? I didn’t even have pesos. Not vacationing in America anyway. And that was not the amount! $90 is quite far from less than $3,000,” he wrote.

Despite expressing disappointment over the incident, Nievera said he has chosen not to dwell on the experience and instead hopes others will learn from it.

“It’s not the money, it’s the trust and how just a couple of people can make a whole shiny and blue airline look terrible,” he said.

The veteran performer also acknowledged that leaving the bag behind was his own mistake but stressed that airline personnel should handle such situations with greater professionalism.

Calling the incident a “terrible experience,” Nievera urged travelers to be extra careful with their belongings, adding that he is ready to move forward after sharing the lessons he learned from the ordeal.