Brits complain of hours-long waits for baggage at airport over ‘busiest Xmas weekend’
PASSENGERS travelling through Manchester Airport last weekend complained of hours-long waits for their checked luggage.
The complaints surfaced as thousands of Brits headed off on their winter sun breaks, once school holidays started.
Disgruntled passengers were quick to comment about their own airport delays on social media.
One wrote: "We’ve been waiting over an hour for our baggage at Manchester Airport now and still the carousels aren’t moving."
Someone else person said: "[An] 8 hour delay in Cancun and now 2+hours waiting for luggage at Manchester Airport."
In a Manchester Airport said: "We have been made aware of significant staffing challenges faced by Swissport, which is impacting the arrivals experience of passengers flying with the airlines it supports.
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"This may result in some delays to passengers being able to disembark their aircraft, and to the baggage collection process, during the course of this evening.
"It is disappointing that - despite assurances to the contrary - Swissport is not able to provide adequate resources during the busiest weekend of the Christmas travel period and we apologise to all passengers who have experienced unacceptable levels of service.
The airport said that steps were being taken to resolve the challenges faced by the ground services.
They also thanked Swissport staff for their handwork, and passengers for their patience.
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Swissport is one of several ground handlers operating out of Manchester Airport.
A spokesperson for Swissport said: “We apologise to passengers affected by the disruption.
"Unfortunately, a combination of knock-on effects from the recent severe weather and staff illness has created some challenges for our teams.
"We understand this is a frustrating situation and we’re working closely with our airline and airport partners to mitigate these issues."
The situation could get even worse at a number of UK airports over the festive season.
Airports could be forced to close during the Border Force strikes if the situation escalates out of control, a source has warned.
Border Force agents are set to walk out on a number of dates this month in a dispute over pay and working conditions.
The strikes are to affect airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow with staff walking out from December 23 until December 26 and December 28 to December 31.
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The government has said that contingency plans are in place, with the recruitment of "thousands including civil servants and military personnel".
However, a source said that while they had plans in place to keep the airports open and operating, they could be forced to close them if the situation escalates.
