UK Edition
Heathrow passengers forced to take summer holidays without their luggage
Heathrow passengers were forced to take their summer holidays without their luggage due to a glitch in the carousel system, airport admits.
Multiple flights took off on Tuesday afternoon without their passengers luggage as a technical error saw chaos in Terminal 2.
The incident comes as strikes planned by more than 4,000 workers at Heathrow airport set to take place on Friday and Saturday have been suspended while they vote on a new pay offer, Unite said.
However, for holiday makers who have yet to be reunited with their luggage the announcement is of little consolation.
Customer, Ligia García-Béjar who was on her way to an important conference begged Aer Lingus to help relocate her with her luggage after it was “lost” leaving her without clothes in Belfast.
She said: “I really need your help @AerLingus my bag from London-Belfast didn’t get into the plane because of some issue with the system.
“I have a conference today and I don’t have anything to wear but the worst part is I don’t know where my bag is. Please help! I need you to solve this problem.”
This afternoon, she reported that she still had not been reunited with her luggage.
Meanwhile Dave Spence tweeted an image of an empty baggage carousel after being left with no information.
Another user said Heathrow was “pandemonium” and “none of the luggage belts are working so they’ve left 90% of suitcase”.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “On Tuesday there was a technical issue in Terminal 2 preventing some bags from being input into the system.
“Our engineers quickly worked to resolve the issue and the system is working as normal today.
“We are now working closely with our airline partners to reunite passengers with their luggage as soon as possible and those affected should contact their airlines for more information.”
Last week thousands of passengers at Terminal 5 were left queuing for up to two hours for their bags causing many to miss their flights after a technical issue with British Airways.
Strikes planned for the 6-7 August and 23-24 August remain on the table whilst union members consider the latest offer of all frontline colleagues receiving a 7.3% pay increase over two-and-a-half years.
The basic starting salary of Heathrow’s new security officers is £23,153, which is higher than that of a new Metropolitan Police Officer at £20,370.