Former Transportation Secretary To Investigate JFK Airport Mess

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of bags remain unclaimed a week after a snowstorm created days of chaos at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The bags, many of which were water damaged from a burst pipe or from sitting on the salt covered tarmac, were still piled up at the airport Thursday morning.

Bill Trainor and his wife arrived at the airport on Delta from Los Angeles on Sunday and their bags are nowhere to be found. He said the worst part is their daily medications are in the luggage.

"My wife has fibromyalgia, and I have high blood pressure. Nobody could tell us anything, we don't know what's going on," he said.

Airlines have started taking action.

Air China moved hundreds of bags out of the airport and set up a baggage claim area at a Hilton Hotel in South Ozone Park.

Delta Airlines loaded 3,000 pieces of luggage onto trucks Wednesday to personally deliver them back to their customers.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey called the situation "unacceptable," and has hired former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to investigate the debacles of the past week at JFK.

LaHood will take a close look at what preparations were made leading up the winter storm last week, and will also investigate the burst pipe that caused more chaos days later.

LaHood will report his findings to the Port Authority and make recommendations about what must be fixed.