A sea of suitcases was seen outside a terminal at Heathrow Airport as staff struggled with an ‘ongoing issue with the baggage system’.
The aviation industry has been struggling to keep up with post-pandemic demand after sacking too many employees during Covid lockdowns.
Most recently, some travellers who left the country from Heathrow’s Terminal 2 yesterday did not receive their luggage at their destination.
This was because of a ‘technical issue’ with the terminal’s baggage system, Sky News reported.
Footage shows a ‘crazy mass of suitcases filling the pavement like an enormous luggage carpet’.
Staff were trying to arrange bags around poles with letters on them but it looked like they had their work cut out for them.
Some passengers arriving at the terminal were reportedly told they would not get their luggage for two days.
One man was overheard saying: ‘But I’m climbing Kilimanjaro tomorrow I need all my stuff’.Huge ‘luggage carpet’ at Heathrow after issue with baggage system
Heathrow confirmed the issue is now resolved, although it is still working with airlines to reunite passengers who flew out of Terminal 2 with their bags.
‘We’re sorry there has been disruption to passenger journeys,’ a spokesperson said.
It comes after the Government urged travel bosses to give customers notice instead of axing flights on the day they are due to leave.
The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority wrote a joint letter to the whole industry.
They said: ‘We think it’s important that each airline reviews afresh its plans for the remainder of the summer season until the end of September to develop a schedule that is deliverable.
‘Your schedules must be based on the resources you and your contractors expect to have available, and should be resilient for the unplanned and inevitable operational challenges that you will face.
‘While cancellations at any time are a regrettable inconvenience to passengers, it is our view that cancellations at the earliest possibility to deliver a more robust schedule are better for consumers than late notice on-the-day cancellations.’
