Baggage handler Swissport has apologised for 'frustrating and inconvenient' delays at Manchester Airport after passengers were left waiting hours for their luggage.
In recent days passengers have been forced to wait for their bags to be placed on carousels in the airport's baggage reclaim halls - with many deciding to walk out and collect their cases from lost property.
Cases were left piled high with customers taking pictures at the airport showing hundreds of items being left behind, some even two days after a flight had landed, Manchester Evening News reported.
Swissport - which is not the only baggage handler at Manchester Airport - said it had recruited almost 1,000 new members of staff in the UK and Ireland, but said rising cases of Covid-19 and security procedures and training for new starters were among a number of reasons for the recent delay.
The apology comes after Manchester Airport's baggage handlers reported they were under 'more stress than ever'.
One airport worker, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported understaffing and new recruits walking off the job after just first day, telling Manchester Evening News : "We just can't handle the workload."
With growing demands for the situation to be fixed, it was announced on Wednesday the boss of Manchester Airport, Karen Smart, managing director of Manchester Airports Group, had quit amid calls from council bosses and an MP for management to 'get a grip' of the growing crisis.
Swissport, in a statement, apologised to travellers at Manchester Airport who have experienced delays in reclaiming their baggage and in disembarking from planes and said it would be working closely with airport management.
The company said: "The pandemic significantly impacted the aviation industry which is still recovering as flight levels begin to return.
"We have recruited nearly 1,000 new colleagues into our business 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.
"We understand how frustrating and inconvenient delays are for customers and we apologise to those who've experienced delays in disembarking and baggage collection.
"With the increased demand for travel the capacity of the baggage system is being put under enormous pressure and we are seeing knock-on delays from security queues.
"We, and other baggage handlers operating at the airport, are all working closely with the airport management to help identify contingency measures whilst they address the vital maintenance and improvements these shared facilities require."
John O'Neill, North West regional industrial officer for Unite, said yesterday union officials were meeting airport management to discuss pay.
He said after mass redundancies due to Covid, some workers have found alternative jobs with similar wages and may not be willing to return to work at the airport doing unsocial hours for similar rates of pay.
MAG, which also runs Stansted and East Midlands airports, is partly owned by the 10 local authorities of Greater Manchester, with the biggest stake held by Manchester Council.
Airports up and down the country are struggling from the combination of staff shortages and a spike in demand as many families head abroad for the school Easter holidays, which is the first since the UK's coronavirus restrictions for international travellers were dropped.
Things could get even worse this weekend as airports will be used by travellers returning from trips during the first week of the break, and those departing for the second week of the school holiday.
Airline passengers were hit with further disruption on Wednesday as more than 100 UK flights scheduled were cancelled. British Airways axed at least 78 flights at Heathrow, while easyJet cancelled at least 30 at Gatwick.
To reduce the impact on passengers, most cancellations are being made at least a day in advance and on routes with multiple daily flights, so passengers can be offered alternative departures.
