LONDON: HUNDREDS more bags have piled up at Heathrow Airport today as travellers were issued with holiday warnings.
Suitcases are spread across the floor and on trollies at Terminal 2 after a carousel malfunction yesterday caused a congested backlog of luggage.
The fault, which is now resolved, lasted several hours. Some passengers were told their bags may not be returned for two days.
Travellers have accused the airport of ruining their holidays and causing chaos with the situation.
It comes at Transport Secretary Grant Shapps insisted better deals for baggage handlers would entice more workers to apply for and stay in airport jobs.
A Heathrow spokeswoman said: “We unreservedly apologise for technical issues with our baggage systems that have impacted passengers this weekend.
“We are working round the clock with airlines to re-unite passengers with their bags as quickly as possible.
“There may be some lingering disruption from yesterday’s technical baggage issues and we ask passengers to check with their airlines before travelling to the airport.”
Huge queues were also building up at Stanstead Airport this morning with flight delays of more than six hours.
Labour MP David Lammy, who was caught up in it, wrote online: “Another morning, another horrid queue at airport security!”
And Gatwick Airport announced this week it would cancel 4,000 flights this Summer.
Daily flights will be capped at 825 in July and 850 in August – compared to 900 a day during the same period in previous years.
It means an estimated 80,000 people will have their summer plans ruined.
On Wednesday a disabled man left waiting on a plane fell to his death in Gatwick’s North Terminal after getting off without a helper.
Meanwhile, Manchester Airport urged passengers to arrive even earlier following disruption and long security queues.
And experts have told how afternoon flights later in the week have the best chance of success. London Stanstead is also the most reliable airport, they added.
It follows weeks of holiday hell as airlines have been cancelling flights and airports have been crammed with Brits desperate for a getaway after two years of lockdowns.
EasyJet and British Airways axed hundreds of short-haul flights, many from London Gatwick, as holiday bookings heat up for the summer.
Heathrow itself has cut passenger capacity by a third until next month to try and stem the flow of travellers through its terminals.
The airport warned that without the move its buildings would not be safe.
Courtesy: thesun
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