A “colossal luggage carpet” was spotted at the UK’s busiest airport terminal. Staff are trying to solve an “ongoing problem with the baggage system”.
Sky News security and defence editor Deborah Haynes was there to witness the chaos as Deborah Haynes, Sky News’ defence and security editor, left Heathrow Terminal 2 following an early evening arrival from Brussels.
She stated that the baggage claim was where she saw the warning signs that something wasn’t right.
“There were many suitcases that didn’t have owners and they were grouped together around different conveyor belts.
“I was curious about the owners.”
She added, “Then I stepped outside, I could see this crazy mass suitcase filling up the pavement like an immense luggage carpet.
“I have never seen anything similar.”
“Though it did appear to be trying to be organized chaos.
“Officials seemed to be trying to arrange suitcases next to poles with letters of the alphabet stuck to them – perhaps it was to correspond to the owner of each bag.
It looked like an enormous task.
Sky News international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn was present at the terminal on Friday evening and stated: “Passengers have been told that they might not be able to get their luggage for up to two days.”
“One passenger said, “But I’m climbing Kilimanjaro tomorrow, I need all of my stuff.”
Heathrow spokeswoman said that there was an issue with Terminal 2’s baggage system earlier today. This problem has been resolved.
“Passengers can now check in as usual, but some passengers who left Terminal 2 earlier today may not have their luggage.
“We work closely with airlines to reunite passengers and their luggage as quickly as possible.
“We are sorry for any disruptions in passenger travels.”
This comes after weeks of chaos in travel, as many airports across Europe and the UK struggled to cope with the summer rush while they were short of workers.
Over the past month, hundreds of flights have been cancelled because of the same staffing problems.
John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow’s chief executive, stated earlier that passengers had experienced only minor delays.
He stood by the industry in the face of criticism about its inability to deal with the return of traveller demands following two years of COVID lockdowns.
Gatwick Airport also announced Friday that it will reduce its daily flights to 825 per day in July and to 850 in August. This is to ensure passengers receive a better service and more reliable services after a thorough review of operations.
