Bristol Airport has been the subject of debate amongst frustrated travellers again. Baggage delays at arrivals in the early hours of this morning (August 17) left people complaining on social media about their "horrific" experiences.
One passenger who travelled from Amsterdam to Bristol, Matt Sanders, said it was "the worst experience I've ever had of any airport in the world", claiming he was left waiting two hours for his luggage to arrive. The airport has apologised for the "above average" delay and said planes arriving off-schedule and staff shortages can impact waiting times.
Holidaymakers arriving at the airport in North Somerset say they were left with little to no communication. Matt said even some airline staff and pilots were delayed, and were joking with passengers about the slow service.
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He said: "In the end, we waited two hours after landing for our luggage with zero information. They probably didn't have the staff but it's the worst experience I've ever had of any airport in the world.
"I've been all over Europe hundreds of times, in North America and the Middle East and never had to wait two hours for my baggage before. There was no communication, they told us the belt and that was it.
"Eventually we had a message on the tannoy about ten minutes before the baggage arrived saying we were just unloading the plane now despite the fact we'd already been there for an hour and 45 minutes.
"We had a joke with some of our cabin crew as they were in the same situation as the rest of us. We laughed and joked saying did you leave the hold locked. The pilot even said it was quicker to get from Amsterdam to Bristol than it was to get the baggage off the plane.
"It was horrific and overcrowded as there were four flights all waiting for luggage to come off of one belt. Then they sent a load of baggage from a flight that wasn't meant for that belt down. Baggage handler supervisors were trying to call people over and it was a general disaster and added to the feeling of chaos."
A spokesperson for Bristol Airport said: “We apologise to customers impacted by the above-average baggage delays experienced in the early hours of Wednesday, August 17. We work closely with all business partners and airline handling agents to ensure staffing levels are sufficient to provide a good service to passengers.
"However, aircraft arriving off-schedule and staff shortages can impact waiting times and service standards. We constantly review resourcing across all areas and adapt plans to meet demand and build resilience where possible.
“We appreciate the frustration experienced by customers currently and please be reassured our teams are working exceptionally hard to assist customers throughout the airport journey.”
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