Swissport has apologised after Edinburgh passengers were stuck onboard a plane after landing in the capital, as there was nobody available to bring the steps to the aircraft.
Passengers were stunned after they had to wait onboard until someone was available to help, with the captain reportedly informing those onboard that there was a 'Covid sickness issue' with staff.
Julie Cupples was onboard the flight, arriving in the city on Tuesday, March 29, from Amsterdam, but was greeted with an announcement informing her, and the rest of the passengers, that they would have to stay onboard until someone was available to help them disembark and that they didn't know how long this would take.
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Having to wait around 15 minutes after the plane landed for someone to come to their aid, Julie took to Twitter after being bemused by the news she, and several other passengers were greeted with.
In a tweet posted after finally getting off the plane, Julie said: "Just landed at Edinburgh Airport and we've been told we can't disembark from the plane because there is so much Covid sickness that there are no ground staff to bring steps to the plane. No idea how long we'll have to wait. WTF."
Luckily, passengers onboard only had to wait 15 more minutes, but the issue was certainly not one Julie had encountered before.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the University of Edinburgh worker, added: "We landed at about 9:30pm and after landing, everyone got up as usual to get off the plane but the doors didn't open.
"After a few minutes we were advised to sit back down as no ground staff were available because of high levels of Covid sickness among staff. We waited about 15 minutes, then there was a very long wait for bags, more than half an hour. The captain actually informed us of the initial delay and lack of ground staff."
Julie was flying on a KLM flight from the Dutch capital, with Swissport being the baggage agents responsible for ensuring the transportation of luggage and passengers getting on and off the aircraft.
The company apologised for the delay caused and said that Covid-19 continues to present an issue with resources.
A spokesperson for Swissport said: "We would like to apologise to customers who experienced a delay. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present significant logistical and resource challenges for the aviation industry, and we have worked hard with our partners to minimise disruption to people’s journeys."
