A passenger watched on as bags were left abandoned on the tarmac for hours after seeing the luggage 'fall from transport' as the UK airport chaos continues.
The furious customer branded Manchester Airport “a mess” as the problem-ridden industry continues to deal with the fall out of staff shortages following heavy layoffs during the pandemic.
The traveller shared video footage with the Manchester Evening News as he sat and watched the bags for over three hours.
It follows floods of complaints from airport passengers that luggage is not being delivered to destinations.
“I watched these bags fall from the transport to the plane,” the man, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
“They were left there for around one hour 40 minutes before being picked up and left in the same place for I don’t know how long.”
Luggage is handled at the site by private aviation companies, and not by the airport itself.
Manchester Airport said that each airline employs its own baggage handling agents, and they are unable to comment on those operations. "Manchester Airport is a mess at the minute," the passenger said.
"It's a joke how they're handling stuff".
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “The process of taking baggage to and from aircraft is managed by a range of third-party handling agents, which each airline contracts directly.
“However, we expect the highest standards when any company operating on our site is handling passengers’ luggage and will raise this with them as a matter of urgency to understand what happened and why.”
Flight delays are due to last across the peak season and some airlines cancelling between 5 and 10% of flights.
There seems sure to be more misery ahead for travellers.
Incoming strike action will involve an estimated 700 workers, which the GMB Union said was “likely to be during the peak summer holiday period”.
“Holidaymakers face massive disruption thanks to the pig-headedness of British Airways,” it said.
Downing Street said further strikes will “only add to the misery being faced by passengers at airports”. A spokesman promised “to look at what contingency measures BA could put in place” to get around the action.
