Video footage has revealed exasperated holidaymakers at Manchester Airport climbing through a baggage carousel curtain, to try to retrieve luggage stuck behind it.
One passenger, who flew back in to Terminal 3 on Ryanair from Porto in Portugal on Monday, told of three and a half hour delays to reclaim suitcases and bags.
Armed police were even called to the carousel amid angry scenes.
The holidaymaker, a 36-year-old woman from Chadderton, Oldham, told the Manchester Evening News that people were offering to load luggage onto the carousel belts themselves before Greater Manchester Police officers attended.
It comes as travellers faced huge queues at Manchester Airport on Thursday morning, as the Jubilee Bank Holiday started.
Social media is full of photos of frustrated passengers, with queues stretching back to the car park at Terminal 3.
Meanwhile, another passenger shared a photo of a long security queue, and said he had waited there for an hour and 40 minutes.
Baggage handler Swissport issued an apology and said current peak periods at airports were 'exacerbating resource challenges across the recovering aviation industry'.
The company also revealed it has hired more than 2,800 new personnel since the start of the year.
The holidaymaker who filmed the carousel scenes said: "Passengers got annoyed because they could not get any answers. People were climbing and crawling through the curtain on the carousel belt trying to find their own luggage. The bags were there, but there was no one to put them onto the carousel.
"I do not think that anyone got their bags, but I don't know, and the police came armed. They were closing shutters and walking around making the point. People were just trying to get their own bags back. The carousel belts were not moving and no one was there to help us."
The video is the latest evidence of chaos and long delays for passengers at Manchester Airport, as flights are cancelled and the airport, as well as baggage handling companies, battle to recruit more staff in the face of severe shortages.
The woman who supplied the footage to the Manchester Evening News talked about her experience after landing.
She said: "At first, when we landed, we had to wait for the steps to get off the flight because there was no people around to do that apparently. We finally get off after around 30-40 minutes then went through passport control, where there were no issues.
"Then we went to the baggage reclaim hall. There were hundreds of people there and luggage everywhere on the floor. Some of it was dated from May 27 - it had been there for three days.
"The worst part was that you could not get any answers. There was no one working in the area and no representatives. The only people that came were the police. Flying out there were no issues - it was just the baggage reclaim area and the whole of T3 was in a very bad state."
She said her flight was assigned a carousel - 16 - but the bags 'never came'.
She said: "There was a phone on the wall that you could ring but we got no help. We went to the carousel and there was nothing - then our flight disappeared from the screen. Border Control came to calm some passengers. They were saying that there was no one to get the bags.
"Flights were coming in all the time and there were more and more people waiting for their bags. At some point one flight got their bags but they had been waiting for three and a half hours.
"Then, bags just started to arrive. Bags from different flights were put on the same carousel - a different one than the one we were assigned - and eventually I got my bag. We were quite lucky. It was two and a half hours. A lot of people were angry. People were offering to go and help put the bags on the carousel from behind to speed up the process.
"It was worse for people with kids. There was nowhere to sit or get a drink or something to eat. A lot of people were just leaving their bags and coming back to get them on another day."
In a statement, Manchester Airport referenced cancelled TUI flights and 'significant challenges' faced with check-in and baggage reclaim operations.
A spokesperson said: "Over the last few days TUI and its appointed ground handler, Swissport, have experienced significant challenges with their check-in and baggage reclaim operations at Manchester airport. From extensive discussions with the TUI and Swissport management teams, it is clear that they are experiencing temporary staff shortages, in common with other aviation and travel companies.
"Given these challenges, we understand TUI's difficult decision to cancel a number of services over the course of the next month, although we are obviously disappointed to see passengers' plans disrupted in this way. We will continue to work with Tui, Swissport and other partners to give passengers the best possible service as the travel sector builds back to full strength after the pandemic.
Swissport, which isn't the only baggage handler at Manchester Airport, said in a statement: "The post-pandemic return in travel demand is positive news, but the current peak period - which can be stretching even in normal times - is exacerbating resource challenges across the recovering aviation industry.
"Airlines, airports, and aviation services all work together to deliver different elements of a single passenger journey and in busy periods the knock-on effects of delays stemming from one part, such as air traffic issues, security queues and late changes to flight schedules can lead to disruption in others.
"We are very sorry for our part in the disruption people are experiencing. We are working hard to address our resource challenges, with over 2,800 new hirings since the start of the year. We will continue to work with our partners to find solutions for this industry-wide issue."
