‘A sea of bags’ greeted passengers arriving in Manchester yesterday evening, a mum has claimed, as she described the chaos in trying to get off her plane.
Kaia, 42, who asked only for her first name to be published, was coming back from a week-long break in Cancun, Mexico, on Sunday afternoon (June 5) only to be held on the plane for hours. Ms Lear also says that there was a delay in getting bags off — which she says she was told by those at the airport was down to ‘inexperienced’ staff.
She claims she was told those staff were unable to work ‘unaccompanied’ as they did ‘not have enough clearance to walk around on their own’. A spokesperson for Swissport, which handles bags at the Airport, says it is ‘working hard’ to ‘find solutions for this industry-wide issue’.
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“We were slightly delayed [arriving], and when we got there there was another plane on the stand at the gate and we were waiting for that to vacate,” Kaia told the Manchester Evening News. “When we did pull up they removed the air bridge and they did not think we would need it.
“The pilot repeatedly tried to call them. It was the third phone number that they answered. In the meantime they were not unloading the bags.”
Kaia, from Nether Alderley in Cheshire, says that when they were allowed off the plane they were greeted with a huge number of bags. “Coming downstairs we can see the odd bag here and there stranded. We came round the corner and we could see a sea of bags.
“At the darker end there was just bags and bags piled up. It was unbelievable. Everyone coming downstairs though ‘what is going on’.
“The labels were from all over. We asked and the staff said people have waited for more than two hours and just given up and been told to come back.”
Unfortunately for Kaia, who also had to contend with seven days of rain in Mexico, the issue with slow baggage affected her Tui flight too. She says Swissport staff also gave her some explanation as to why there were problems unloading luggage.
She added: “We got told, first of all, they [the bags] were delayed coming off the plane. Initially we were told carousel four, then three. They did come off quickly but they came off at three and two.
“They then said they have too many inexperienced staff who do not have enough clearance to walk around on their own. They need to be accompanied. That means they are heaving to effectively have to double up.”
A spokesperson for Swissport said: “The post-pandemic return in travel demand is positive news, but the current peak period – which can be stretching even in normal times - is exacerbating resource challenges across the recovering aviation industry.
“Airlines, airports, and aviation services all work together to deliver different elements of a single passenger journey and in busy periods the knock-on effects of delays stemming from one part, such as air traffic issues, security queues and late changes to flight schedules can lead to disruption in others.
“We are very sorry for our part in the disruption people are experiencing. We are working hard to address our resource challenges, with over 2,800 new hirings since the start of the year. We will continue to work with our partners to find solutions for this industry-wide issue.”
