Tuesday 28 June 2022 07:36 AM Heathrow passengers complain of smell after unclaimed bags are left to sit 'for ... trends now
Suitcases have been left piling up at Heathrow Airport for up to 10 days and are starting to 'stink', passengers have claimed, as crippling staff shortages continue to cause chaos for Brits hoping for a summer getaway.
Images shared online show stacks of unclaimed luggage at a baggage hall in the south-west London airport, which one traveller claimed 'literally smells like poo.'
Another wrote on Twitter: 'Baggage here since June 18, it is literally 28th, bags starting to stink... it's literally a mess, sort it out.'
Travellers at other airports are also reporting problems this morning, including at Manchester, where fed-up holidaymakers were seen forming a huge snaking queue just to enter the building at around 4am.
TUI has also come under fire for reportedly diverting a flight from Larnaca in Cyprus, which was due to land at Bristol, to Gatwick, before telling passengers to 'find their own way home.'
One affected customer fumed: 'You left diverted passengers at Gatwick with no bus to take them back to Bristol airport and your staff crying because of the situation - 24 hour delayed from Larnaca and then this. Passengers told to find their own way home.'
It comes after miserable holidaymakers at Bristol Airport were yesterday forced to sleep on the floor to avoid the queues while those at Heathrow Airport were being made to go on a wild goose chase to find their own luggage.
Images shared online show stacks of luggage at a baggage hall in the south-west London airport, which one traveller claimed 'literally smells like poo.'
One traveller brought an air bed with them to Bristol as they battled to check-in, as queues grew from as early as 4.30am.
Customers had shown up hours earlier than their flights in an attempt to battle the already long queues amid more travel bedlam.
Heathrow was first plunged into chaos in March as bosses struggled to hire enough staff amid widespread labour shortages in the UK in the wake of the pandemic.
British Airway staff are also threatening to strike, after unions rejected a 10 per cent pay offer in favour of walkouts as early as next month, potentially during the school holidays
Union barons claim the airline's offer was a one-time 'bonus' and its members want a full-time raise.
The earliest date the strikes could happen is early July, but the unions have not announced a timescale, possibly in the hopes of pressuring BA bosses to cave in.
Pictures form inside Heathrow appear to show dozens of pieces of 'unclaimed' luggage just dumped around the carousels.
Other desperate travellers have been sent on a wild goose chase to track down their bags which was meant to land with them days ago.
Kate Hardcastle MBE was left without her luggage after boarding a flight from Cannes to Heathrow last week, and has been unable to find out where her belongings are for six days.
Passengers were forced to sleep on the floor as they waited to see if they would be able to travel at Bristol Airport this morning. They queued from 4.30am to see
Other customers were forced to bed down anywhere they could while waiting for more information on their flights in Bristol this morning. One even thought ahead to pack an air bed so they would be more comfortable
Hundreds of passengers packed into Heathrow's Terminal 2, pictured, this morning as they attempted to check in for their flights. Less flights have been cancelled so far at the UK's biggest airport, but travellers still arrived early for flights
Passengers at Bristol, pictured this morning, have been left waiting to see if they will be able to catch their flights. Those at Heathrow have been battling to get back their bags after luggage chaos this weekend
She was told by a British Airways member of staff that her bag had been put on a plane to Dublin, and arrived back in Terminal 2 – which has been worst affected by the luggage disruption.
The business expert said she had been told by staff on the ground at Heathrow they were advising their own families not to travel until November at the earliest.
Speaking to MailOnline Kate said: ‘I am genuinely worried for people who don’t travel as often as I do, I have been travelling for 20 years and you think nothing is going to phase you.
Business expert Kate Hardcastle, pictured, has said that she is 'stunned' by the silence from the CEO's of the airlines who are struggling to retain staff to tackle the ongoing issues. Heathrow was first plunged into chaos in March as bosses struggled to hire enough staff amid widespread labour shortages in the UK in the wake of the pandemic
‘But this is chaotic. People coming for holidays that they have worked for for years have no idea what is in store for them. I was in Terminal 5 for two hours in the end when I landed last week from Cannes trying to get my bag.
‘It was chaos, they were pushing forms at people, really complex forms. BA haven’t been answering the phones for months as far as I understand it.
‘I had to pack a bag for four weeks as I will be travelling away for work for that period, and I have high value and sentimental items in there which have just gone.
‘Normally I would advise everyone to pack light
