Heathrow Passengers may be separated from their luggage for several days due to the massive pile-up at the airport.
Amazing images reveal hundreds of bags stacked in a “luggage carpet” at Heathrow terminals. This is just hours after Heathrow chief executive said that travellers only had minor delays.
Customers were told by Bosses that it might take two days for them to be reunited with their possessions. They also reportedly received a warning from the bosses. The disruption was allegedly caused by a technical issue with the baggage system. It claims this has been fixed.
The incident comes as airport passengers complain about the long wait times, jammed shuttle buses and long queues for their transfers between terminals.
Sky News security and defence editor Deborah Haynes flew in to Heathrow on last night. She said that she saw the chaos from the outside and could feel the suitcases covering the ground like a huge luggage carpet.
“I have never seen anything similar. It did appear to have an attempt to organize chaos.
“Officials seemed to be trying arrange the suitcases near poles with letters of the alphabet stuck to them. Maybe it was to correspond to the owner’s name on each bag. The task seemed daunting.
This is just the latest chaos in British airports that have suffered from staff shortages over several weeks and long queues.
There are also fears that the worst is yet to come. Children could be forced to leave school during summer and millions will fly abroad for vacations.
A Heathrow spokesperson told MailOnline today: ‘Yesterday there was a technical issue with the Terminal 2 baggage system which has now been resolved.
“Passengers now have the ability to check-in as normal. However, some passengers who left Terminal 2 yesterday could not have had their bags with them.
“We’re working with airlines to get passengers back with their bags as quickly as possible.
We’re sorry about the disruption in passenger transports.
Mark Clemmit, a BBC Sports presenter was caught in all the chaos as he uploaded a series of photos to his Facebook page.
Tweeted: ‘It’s official @HeathrowAirport. You officially #LostThePlot. Hoping to see you later #Toronto. But no guarantees.’
Heathrow passenger were informed today they could not be reunited their bags for several days because the enormous baggage pile at the airport continues to grow (pictured this morning).
Amazing images reveal hundreds of bags stacked in what is described by some as a “luggage carpet” at the terminals. (pictured this morning).
Mark Clemmit from BBC was one of those who got caught up in this chaos.
Customers were told by Bosses that it might take two days for them to be reunited with all their belongings.
Heathrow passengers were furious when their luggage was reportedly stolen after leaving Britain. (Photo: Friday Night)
The news comes at a time when travellers passing through Britain’s international airports have experienced flights being cancelled or delayed by airlines, and baggage left behind hundreds of kilometers away. This has led to long lines in queues.
There have been shocking scenes of holidaymakers being forced to lie on terminal floors during long delays.
As they raced back to school and work after half-term, travelers crossed the borders rather than waiting for late flights.
Many claimed they spent hundreds on flights, or for other forms of transportation such as Eurostar trains.
They included teachers who had to go back to class and A-level learners, who were at risk of missing their exams and losing their university seats.
After letting go of thousands during the coronavirus epidemic, the aviation industry now faces staff shortages.
And Gatwick Express cancelled all trains for three days next week and Eurostar axed dozens of services, as last-minute crunch talks continued with Network Rail.
Sky News was told by Paul Scully, the Business Minister. There are approximately 1.3 million jobs available in different sectors across the country. However, there is also an abundance of people who are ready to reevaluate what they did while on furlough.
Also, he stated that he wanted it to be possible for people to work more – and want to work harder – to do so.
John Holland-Kaye chief executive at Heathrow warned that it would take between 12 and 18 months for the industry to regain its pre-pandemic capacity.
Holland-Kaye emphasized that there are many lost skilled jobs and it takes time and effort to train and recruit people. Furthermore, staffing issues all over the world have an effect on UK airports.
Sky News reported that Heathrow had experienced minor delays for passengers.
He stated that it was easy to stop the industry from growing, which can lead to huge job loss, but harder to make it grow again.
Holland-Kaye thinks there will be enough workers to cope with summer escapees. Heathrow’s most ‘largest group of people’ are security officers. We will also have the same number of security staff this summer than before the pandemic.
The job losses suffered by ground handling firms, which provide services like baggage check and cleaning planes, are significant.
Yesterday, Gatwick announced that it will reduce its daily flight numbers to only 825 daily flights in July and to just 850 in August. This is in contrast to the reported 995 daily flights in this time frame in past years.
Travellers furious took to social media, sharing videos and photographs of the sea of baggage left behind by T2 on Friday
As passengers struggled to get around after weeks of chaos, hundreds of their bags and belongings were seen stacked up in Terminal 2 at the UK’s busiest Airport on Friday.
Heathrow offered apologies to passengers and said that there was an “ongoing problem with the baggage system” which had led to the accumulation of luggage.
This means 4,000 flights will be axed until September – meaning 800,000 people will have to find alternative travel arrangements – but bosses hope it will help passengers ‘experience a more reliable and better standard of service’.
EasyJet also canceled 40 flights per day in June, saying: “Given our high frequency services to Gatwick, it is likely that we will be able accommodate the majority of our customers should their flight be affected.
TUI’s spokesperson stated that TUI Airways had been flying well out of Gatwick, and that they plan to continue operating the flights this summer.
After becoming impatient waiting to be assisted by EasyJet, the 82-year old disabled man died at Gatwick.
It is understood that this escalator to the £110million Skybridge is where the man fell down
Jacob Thorburn, Dan Sales MailOnline
A disabled passenger has fallen to his death on an escalator to the £110million Skybridge at Gatwick Airport after getting off his flight when he was left on an EasyJet plane.
He had been waiting to be assisted to get off his plane as he was travelling with his son and wife on Wednesday, when he made the decision to jump out of his aircraft.
Wilson, a private company that assists disabled passengers is believed to have taken his partner off the plane.
He was still on the aircraft and would be picked up when he leaves on foot.
Tragic accident occurred when an escalator went up from the runway to the tunnel that leads into the Skybridge north terminal.
After being the first to arrive on the scene at 12.50pm, the tragedy occurred when he fell on the moving staircase.
According to a source, “A staff member came to make sure that we were safe.” [a]He was able to get the woman in the airport. But the man was still onboard the plane. The man did not want to be left waiting for the attendant to return and so made his way through the airport.
“While riding on an escalator, a passenger fell and sustained serious injuries. He later died. It is tragic that this happened. He should have had someone to help him.
The Skybridge – which opened in 2005 – and cost more than £100million to build.
Its 194-metre length meant 55,000 transfer-bus journeys a year were no longer needed to get people from their planes to the airport building.
According to The Sun, a source said that normal airport personnel had been reminded to not assist disabled passengers even though they aren’t qualified. This could have resulted in passengers being forced to wait for long periods.
Paul Charles, a travel expert from The PC Agency said that questions will be raised about the inability to find staff during the flight. The frustration shown by some passengers is growing as they can’t wait to be rescued and don’t want to travel long distances in the hope that help will eventually arrive.
Gatwick has been one of many airports affected by the staff shortage.