Holidaymakers hit with baggage disruption at Edinburgh Airport
Some travellers claim they waited almost 3 hours to retrieve their luggage
Travellers are taking to social media to criticise the delays in claiming their luggage at Edinburgh Airport.
According to some holidaymakers, it is taking from 30 minutes to more than an hour to claim baggage for some flights.
Keith Steele, a frequent traveller of Edinburgh Airport, raised the issues his friends and family members had recently.
He said: “It’s a very mixed situation, some people don’t have a problem and some people do.
“A friend of mine just came back from Algarve and he experienced a 45-minute wait.
“My son came back from Nice recently on an EasyJet flight and he had a relatively good experience.
“You’re lucky if you get a 30-minute wait, but maybe when it’s not so busy… Clearly on peak times, they have issues.”
'We are helping where we can'
Edinburgh Airport released a statement explaining that the responsibility of the baggage handling is not from the airport but from the airlines.
According to a spokesperson, the airlines contract handling agencies, such as Swissport, to be responsible for the baggage process:
“We understand the frustration that can be caused as passengers wait for the return of luggage and we clearly don’t want waits to be extensive.
“We know some of the handling agents on site are experiencing issues and we are helping where we can.
“The airport has sourced and allocated additional staff for some of the agents who face particular issues and we will continue to discuss and understand their operational pressures to provide support where we can.”
'It took nearly 3 hours'
John Fotheringham arrived at Edinburgh airport last week after travelling for 14 hours. He claims baggage for the flight took over 2 hours to arrive.
He said: “The whole flight waited around the carrousel that indicated our flight.
“After waiting for a long time with nothing, the screen changed to another flight arrival and their baggage arrived.
“It took nearly 3 hours for our belongings to arrive and there was nobody from Swissport there.”
'We sincerely apologise'
Swissport released a statement about the issue: “We sincerely apologise for any passengers experiencing delays with baggage and recognise how frustrating this is for them.
“We continue to work closely with our airline and airport partners to improve turnaround times.”
Recently, Swissport drafted in 50 extra staff from across the UK to Edinburgh Airport to help with the baggage turmoil - after airport bosses issued a deficiency notice to the company.