Lost baggage, cancelled flights and long queues as Birmingham Airport misery continues

Travellers have been aiming to get away in their thousands this week for the half-term break and the four-day Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

However, many have faced long queues outside check-in terminals and lengthy delays at baggage reclaim halls, with photos and videos of the misery being shared on social media.

Zoe Ursula, 29, from Birmingham, was forced to wait 10 hours to board a flight with her one-year-old child, only for the flight to then be cancelled.

She said: "I was supposed to board a flight from BHX to Bulgaria, but they waited 10 hours to cancel the flight. We were asked to go to the gate three times but had no update.

"There was no assistance. I understand issues happen but the lack of communication isn't good. I was there from 12pm and didn't get home till 1am, and whilst with a one-year-old.

"I waited for my luggage as we were told to come back tomorrow but I could not leave without it as my luggage also holds medication for my son.

"I just feel sorry for the staff working on the floor, as the staff at the top need to speak up. They get paid enough to do so."

A driver from airport transfers company 'All Aboard Shropshire Airport Transfers' said he saw huge queues this morning. He said: "I dropped off five passengers to Birmingham Airport this morning, and they were flying with Jet2.

"I saw huge queues outside and the passengers that I dropped off had to join the crowd of people outside the Jet2 check-in terminal.

"It was very cold this morning, and there were a lot of babies and children there forced to queue up outside.

"It has been chaos and very hectic this week."

Jenny Mokienko, 50, from Sutton Coldfield, landed on a RyanAir flight from Bucharest on Monday, May 30 and at the time of writing was yet to receive her luggage.

She said: "I landed on a RyanAir flight from Bucharest just before midnight and did not get my baggage.

"At 1am this morning we were told to leave and that our luggage was still on the plane, and it would be sent to us via courier.

"I received a text message yesterday saying to collect my luggage between 1pm and 8pm, which contradicted what they initially told me, that a courier would drop it off.

"The communication at BHX was disjointed and disorganised.

"I was not able to go back to the airport yesterday, and now I have been told to contact RyanAir, but the issue is with Birmingham Airport.

"It is shocking really, to still not have my luggage, and to have had no contact from BHX."

James Tallis, from Stourbridge, landed at BHX from Lanzarote, and has also had lost luggage, despite like hundreds of others, had to wait in the baggage-claim halls only to be told to go home without them.

He said: "We wait for three and a half hours for our bags only to be told to go home and they would be delivered by courier.

"It was a nightmare. Kids were asleep on the floor, babies were without pushchairs, there was elderly people stuck in wheelchairs. It was chaos.

"I received a text message telling me I can collect my bags, and once I went to collect them, I had to wait three hours again in a queue, and was then told one of my bags has been lost.

"They said that they could not find it, and I have had to complete a lost luggage claim via email.

"I was told it may been left in Lanzarote, but I saw it being loaded onto the plane before we took off!

"Thousands of bags were left in the arrivals hall. It contained my expensive SLR camera and lens in there.

"It has been a horrible experience, and there has been no apology at all."

The chaos comes as over 150 UK flights have been cancelled ahead of the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

A Birmingham Airport representative said baggage issues are the responsibility of the handling agent or airline of the flights in question.

Speaking on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Swissport, handling agent for Tui said small impacts on a flight - such as air traffic restrictions, pressure on airport infrastructure, security queues or last-minute flight schedule changes - can have bigger consequences.

"While the return in flight volumes after the serious impact of the pandemic is undoubtedly a positive development, it is also exacerbating resource challenges across the aviation industry, including at Swissport, especially at a busy period of holiday travel. We are very sorry for our part in any delays and disruption passengers have experienced.

"We’re doing everything we can to address our role in meeting our resource challenges, welcoming over 2,000 new colleagues since the start of the year, and we continue to work with our partners to identify contingency measures and improve baggage and aircraft turnaround times.”

Birmingham Airport were contacted for comment, but said baggage issues and delays were the responsibility of the airlines.