Watch: Passengers leap over conveyor belts to find luggage - NZ Herald

2022-08-13 01:08:01 By : Ms. Ruby Liu

A woman told staff she and a friend had another flight to catch and even offered to help with the bags.

Passengers have been forced to climb through baggage carousel belts at the airport to find their own luggage due to staff shortages, a new investigation has revealed.

Video captured the moment desperate tourists and locals returning home crawled across the luggage conveyor belts at Manchester Airport so they could fetch their own bags.

The baggage pileup was so bad that two passengers had to climb into the airside baggage area.

The staff shortages were then highlighted after a passenger was heard telling the baggage handlers they'd been waiting more than an hour-and-a-half since landing from Turkey to get their luggage.

They then offered to help unload the bags to ease the pressure, according to The Sun.

But the incident escalates when baggage handlers tell passengers that even though bags are on the belt, that the luggage probably isn't theirs as "belts have been changed and flights cancelled."

Revealed by UK's Channel 4 Airport Chaos Undercover: Dispatches, an undercover reporter working for baggage handler company Swissport said it happens "all the time".

He said it was "f***ing chaos" which even led to fights between passengers.

The problems come after company Swissport, used by a number of airlines, made more than half of its 6000 staff redundant during the pandemic.

The Channel 4 investigation also spoke to a Wizz Air pilot who spoke of the chaos.

They said: "There is a shortage of crew and to avoid cancelling flights, they encourage staff to work harder. There is pressure for us to help out by flying on our days off.

"There is also a summer bonus scheme that encourages pilots to fly more hours."

A Wizz Air spokesperson also added that they will "not hesitate to cancel flights whenever necessary to guarantee safety."

Further strike action in the coming weeks is likely to cause even more chaos.

And Manchester Airport told The Sun that the filming took place a month ago, with improvements being made since then.