Bristol Airport has issued a statement after passengers were hit with huge delays at baggage reclaim on Wednesday morning. There have been reports of people waiting for anywhere from an hour to up to three hours.
The airport warned last week it is facing its busiest period since 2019 with 300,000 passengers expected over half term. All the while the airline industry is being hit with major staff shortages leading to delays and even flight cancellations.
Many passengers shared their frustration with the airport on Twitter. @JohnPitts1 commented: "More chaos @BristolAirport today this time awaiting baggage. @swissport the culprit keeping 4 flights waiting for anything up to an hour. “Operational reasons given as excuse” - that’s utter rubbish, they don’t have enough staff. Really poor passenger experience."
Follow live: Delays reported at Bristol Airport baggage reclaim
One passenger - @cymruambiff - reported a three-hour wait: "@BristolAirport WHERE ARE YOUR STAFF IN BAGGAGE CLAIM TO SORT OUT THIS MESS! Absolutely disgusting. People with children who have been waiting 3 hrs to collect their luggage!!!! #bristolairport."
On Tuesday, @TomRead_ wrote: "@TUIUK @BristolAirport what an absolute s*** show yesterday. Flight home delayed by 3 hours, waiting over 2 hours for our baggage & waiting nearly an hour to get our car key back from the silver zone parking."
@theboss66zy questioned why wasn't more being done to help: "Got to baggage control CHAOS!! no bag no surprise no help available - why aren't management stepping up to assist?"
When asked about the delays at baggage reclaim, a Bristol Airport spokesperson said: "We apologise to customers impacted by above average baggage delays experienced on overnight. 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.”
On the bright side, Bristol Airport has reported an improvement in security queue times for outbound passengers. Many people shared their positive experiences on Twitter and praised the friendly airport staff for a swift experience through check-in and security.
@_jesswigley said: "Not as bad as I thought! Silver Zone Parking and Bag drop was super quick. Big thanks to Cherelle from Jet2 who was organising the queues!"
While @xjenniebelliex said Bristol Airport "was such a breeze this morning". "We arrived at airport 2.5hours before through security and bag check in by 8.15. Friendly staff and very efficient."
On Twitter, the company said: "We want to reassure that over 80% of customers are experiencing less than a 20-minute security queue time. Please help us to help you and arrive in the terminal when bag drop/check-in desk opens.
"Please do not arrive too early as check-in and security may not be open and arriving early adds tot he congestion. Thank you."
