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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Ross Hunter

Warning issued to Edinburgh Airport passengers amid baggage chaos

The airport has been hit with long queues and hundreds of cases of missing luggage in recent weeks

EDINBURGH Airport has issued guidance to help people get through the facility as quickly as possible as travellers report significant waiting times and problems with missing luggage.

The advice includes removing belts and jackets while waiting in the queue for security and ensuring electronics are uncovered before going through the scanners.

It comes as passengers whose bags were handled by Swissport were told to attend a temporary facility at Royal Highland Centre to collect delayed belongings.

Hundreds of people have reported losing their luggage at the airport, with some waiting weeks for their bags to be returned.

It includes professional golfer Neil Fenwick, whose missing clubs prevented him from competing in a tournament in Germany. 

Three operators handle baggage at Edinburgh Airport - Swissport, Menzies and WFS. All three have reported problems with passengers reclaiming their baggage.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said: “We’ve provided operational support to Swissport by helping them move luggage to and setting up this facility so they can allow passengers to retrieve their luggage.

“We appreciate the frustration that some passengers will be experiencing and encourage them to contact their airline and handling agents for further information.

“We have been assisting where we can by signposting passengers to appropriate partners, but we remind people that there is no excuse for abusive behaviour towards staff who are trying to help.”

To collect missing baggage people are being asked to bring their luggage tags and identification to the secure facility at Lowland Hall in Ingliston. Without this they will not be able to collect their missing luggage.

No appointment is required but passengers are being warned that there may be some wait time while they deal with requests.

Swissport said they are working to return the missing luggage as soon as they can.

A spokesperson said: “We apologise to passengers who’ve experienced delays to the return of their baggage at Edinburgh Airport.

"In busy periods such as the current peak travel time, the knock-on effects of delays across the travel process, such as air traffic issues, short-shipped luggage and late changes to flight schedules, can create challenging conditions for baggage handlers.

“We have brought in additional staff to help our team and are updating passengers with details of our secure baggage repatriation facility at Ingliston to ensure we can reunite them with their baggage as soon as possible.”

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