British Airways passengers forced to fly from Heathrow without their bags

British Airways passengers were forced to fly from Heathrow without their luggage while others queued for hours to collect bags, after a technical issue disrupted the airline’s baggage system.

Many travellers departed on flights on Tuesday without their checked-in luggage having been put on the plane, while those on arriving flights faced long waits to retrieve theirs.

British Airways has apologised over the “temporary technical fault” that caused the chaos.

The issue, which also caused many flights to be delayed by several hours, began on Tuesday afternoon and was resolved towards the end of the day.

However, Heathrow Airport has advised people flying from Terminal 5 on Wednesday to check with BA before travelling, as they may still be impacted by the issue.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, one passenger who arrived at Heathrow described the situation as a “shambles”.

He added: “No info told just to go home. But need the bag for a wedding tomorrow and you’re telling me 48 hours for my bag!!!”

Another wrote: “Flew to Newcastle from Heathrow last night with @‌British-Airways.

“No updates or info provided by BA – flight arrived 3 hours late & without baggage.

“One staff member stood in baggage reclaim with a laminated piece of paper with a QR code to a portal that doesn’t work. Disgraceful.”

A British Airways spokesman said: “We’ve apologised to those customers who were unable to travel with their luggage due to a temporary technical fault that was outside of our control.

“This issue has been resolved and we’ve brought in additional colleagues to support our teams in getting bags back to our customers as quickly as possible.”

A spokesperson for Heathrow said airport staff were “on site supporting BA with their recovery”.

They added: “We advise passengers to check with BA before travelling to the airport as BA passengers in Terminal 5 may still be impacted. No other airline is impacted.”