A sea of bags were left stranded at Heathrow Airport following a system failure, leaving fuming passengers arriving at their destinations without any belongings
Holidaymakers have been left “fuming” after a system failure at Heathrow Airport forced many to travel without their luggage.
The disruption hit British Airways flights at Terminal 5 on Friday after a fault meant hundreds of suitcases were not loaded onto planes. A sea of bags were left stranded at the airport, leaving passengers arriving at their destinations without any belongings.
Images showed rows of abandoned suitcases piled up across drop-off and pick-up areas as staff tried to sort and reconnect luggage with its owners. Travellers described being left for several hours, according to social media, whilst others continued their journeys without their cases.
One frustrated commenter called the wait “completely unacceptable”, writing: “My elderly mother and sister are there and being told of a five hour delay – in an area with no seats or access to food or drink.” Airport staff were later seen handing out bottles of water.
“No staff available to advise, baggage system failure – five hours waiting with no luggage or updates. Gave up and went home. Lack of communication frustrating – passengers deserve clear info on timings,” a second X user wrote.
A third said: “Caught up in the luggage chaos at Heathrow yesterday and now in Boston without my luggage…Air tag shows case still at Terminal 5. Why is nothing being done?”
The baggage system was back up and running as of Saturday afternoon, but customers will see an ongoing impact, British Airways told MyLondon. Work is now underway to transport luggage as quickly as possible.
“Whilst this issue is entirely out of our control, we’re sorry to our customers for any inconvenience caused,” a spokesperson added. More staff have been brought in to help ease the operational problems caused.
It is not known how many passengers have been impacted but it’s likely to be several thousands. Passengers are able to check in as normal today, Heathrow Airport confirmed.
“Due to a technical fault yesterday, some baggage did not depart Terminal 5 as planned and we apologise for any disruption this may have caused, a spokesperson said.
They continued: “The issue has been fixed and passengers are checking in as normal today. We will continue to support British Airways to ensure any missed bags are resent as quickly as possible.”
