Bristol Airport baggage collection: Apology as suitcases are pictured piled up

Airport chaos continued after passengers bags were dumped in a huge pile at Bristol Airport. Dozens of suitcases were pictured on top of each other next to a baggage carousel on Friday afternoon (June 18).

One furious passenger complained that his luggage was damaged and that no staff were on hand to help. Bristol Airport has apologised and blamed ‘above-average baggage delays’.

It comes amid daily complaints on social media from people who say they have also waited too long for their baggage to come after landing.

Phil Ransome, who flew into the airport from Catania, Italy, said: “Home from holidays to baggage collection at #bristolairport, elderly passengers could not reach their suitcases, nobody around to assist, damaged suitcases.

“There were dents and scratches to cases. Luckily nothing inside was damaged.

“I had to help some older people by climbing over and retrieving their cases.

“There were no airport staff anywhere to help or complain to.”

The incident on Friday follows days of issues at the baggage collection facility as hundreds of holiday-makers return to Bristol, while it appears there is not enough staff to man the work.

Bristol Airport said in a statement: “We apologise to customers impacted by the above-average baggage delays on the Catania flight arriving on the afternoon of Friday 17 June.

“We work closely with all business partners and airline handling agents to ensure staffing levels are sufficient to provide a good service to passengers.

“However, aircraft arriving off schedule and staff shortages can impact on waiting times and service standards. We constantly review resourcing across all areas and adapt plans to meet demand and build in resilience where possible.

“We appreciate the frustration experienced by customers currently and please be reassured our teams are working exceptionally hard to assist customers throughout the airport journey.”