Manchester Airport: Swissport apologises over baggage delays

A baggage handling firm at Manchester Airport has apologised to passengers who have faced long delays waiting for their bags after getting off planes.

Travellers have previously criticised long queues and have missed flights.

Swissport said it was "seeing knock-on delays from security queues" as the baggage system was being put under "enormous pressure".

The firm said there were rising cases of Covid-19 and security processes made recruitment "challenging".

Travellers at the airport, which is owned by Greater Manchester's 10 councils and an investment firm, have faced long queues for check-in and security over the past month.

Manchester Airport Group previously apologised and said the industry was "facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges at present, after the most damaging two years in its history".

The airport's managing director, Karen Smart, announced on Tuesday she would be stepping down from the role.

Airport management were due to meet political leaders and unions to discuss the ongoing situation on Tuesday.

Delays on baggage being returned in arrivals has led to some customers abandoning their suitcases.

Ian Morgan, from Manchester, said he waited for two hours in the baggage reclaim hall at Terminal 2 on Sunday.

Bags from previous flights were left in the hall as passengers had left without them, he said.

A spokesman for Swissport said: "We understand how frustrating and inconvenient delays are for customers and we apologise to those who've experienced delays in disembarking and baggage collection."

He said the pandemic had "significantly impacted" the aviation industry which was "still recovering" as flight levels increase.

"We have recruited nearly 1,000 new colleagues across the UK and Ireland but with cases of Covid-19 rising and complex security processes for new staff, recruitment remains challenging across the industry," he added.

The spokesman said Swissport, along with other baggage handlers, was working on "contingency measures" with airport management.

On Wednesday morning, some travellers expressed their surprise on Twitter at a "calm and organised" experience at the airport.

One woman said her husband had "sailed through" security, while another passenger thanked the "amazing" staff and said she had got through to the departure lounge in 30 minutes.

Another traveller said he had set off from Glasgow at 04:45 BST in preparation for a 12:25 flight and would be enjoying "a couple of hours in the bar that we hadn't expected".

On Friday, Manchester councillor Pat Karney revealed that passenger numbers at the airport had surged since the easing of Covid restrictions.

"Two million people went through the airport in February [and] in the previous year, it was 70,000," he said.

But he said the airport's management "should have known the recovery was going to be very quick".

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