Two hour-long waits for baggage as travel misery at Birmingham Airport continues

Many people have reported having to wait more than two hours to collect their bags, with one person claiming they waited almost four.

Twitter user Caroline reported that, after a three hour flight delay in Papho, travellers had been sat on the floor in Birmingham airport for an hour, with others around claiming to have been waiting almost four hours.

Meanwhile, Marianne reported waiting over two and a half hours for her baggage after a three hour flight delay, and said she is now dreading her summer holiday.

Earlier this month, thousands of passengers were forced to wait in long queues outside the airport for several hours.

The airport said 43 per cent of its employees were made redundant during the pandemic due to travel restrictions which were lifted in mid-February with no prior warning.

It added that it began a recruitment drive in November 2021.

Due to the delays, one traveller claims to have been issued a £40 parking charge, after it took two hours for their baggage to come through.

A Birmingham Airport representative said baggage issues are the responsibility of the handling agent or airline of the flights in question.

A spokesperson for Swissport, handling agent for Tui said: "Half-term is always a busy time for airports, and we know that they, and our airline partners, are currently experiencing a number of challenges which often have a knock-on effect on our work.

"As we continue to recover from the pandemic, we have welcomed over 2,000 new colleagues to our business since the start of the year, but there have been some delays while we await the relevant security clearances.

"We understand how frustrating delays are for passengers so our staff will always try as hard as they can to find a solution.

"We will continue to collaborate with airports, airlines and other ground handlers to minimise disruption wherever we can."