Manchester Airport chaos as bags take two hours to arrive
Passenger Carlos Capitan was exasperated after a near two-hour wait for his luggage at Manchester Airport, describing the scene as 'chaos. He was told that only one staff member was left to unload the bags from three different flights. The incident occurred on Wednesday (September 25).
The 42 year old returned from the Liam Gallagher and Friends Weekender in Malta, hoping for a swift journey home following their three-hour flight that touched down in Manchester around 2pm. The frequent flyer observed as other travellers who landed after him retrieved their bags while he continued to wait.
Driven by frustration, Carlos sought answers and was informed that the hold-up was because of a lone worker tasked with handling the baggage from three flights.
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In a video, he remarked: "Well done Manchester Airport, one guy unloading three planes on his own. Landed an hour ago they haven't even loaded our plane. I had to find out by knocking on the door and asking staff. They've not informed us of anything, absolute disgrace this airport.."
He later expressed his dismay to the Manchester Evening News: "It was just chaos, you had hundreds of people waiting with no information, there were old ladies there, there were kids. I just had enough, got angry and made a video."
Another passenger said: "They put two flights on our belt and at 3:05, there were three full flights queuing up on one belt. It was chaos, nobody can see anything, you don't know what's going on."
The traveller expressed frustration due to the lack of communication: "I was getting a bit annoyed, there were no answers, no explanation, everyone was just pulling their hair out. So I banged on the door where suitcases were coming from, some chap answered and they came back and told us that it was just one guy on his own and he was unloading three planes with no help whatsoever."
They also observed the visible stress on the lone baggage handler: "He looked like he was pulling his hair out himself. The only guys that were organised were Jet2 because they were hiring their own bag handlers. Our suitcases started coming out an hour and forty minutes after we landed."
Addressing the incident, a Manchester Airport spokesperson clarified to the MEN that the responsibility for baggage handling falls on the airlines, stating: "baggage handlers by the carousel are hired by the airlines and not the airport."
Moreover, the airport did offer additional support once informed of the situation: "Manchester Airport staff were provided to help with the backlog when they were made aware of the incident."
An easyJet spokesperson reached out to apologise to affected passengers, explaining the reason behind the delay: "We are very sorry that it took longer than usual for passengers arriving on flight EZY2274 from Malta to Manchester yesterday to be reunited with their hold luggage. "This was due to more aircraft arriving at the same time than scheduled and as a result, the delayed delivery of hold bags. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused."