Airport baggage disruption brings loads of frustration

Handling airport baggage disruption  can be very stressful and even frustrating. Recently, British Airways was forced to bring in extra teams to help reunite people with their lost luggage and at the same time many British Airways (BA) flights were delayed by several hours – while people arriving on flights into the West London airport also faced long delays to retrieve their baggage.

The airline reported that there had been a “temporary technical fault” which had disrupted its baggage system at the airport and had apologised for the problems it caused.

On the other hand, some travellers took to social media to describe their frustration at the delays, with one person who flew into Heathrow referring to the situation in not too palatable language.

There are lessons to learn from British Airways on how they handled the corporate communication during the challenge of baggage disruption. The spokesman for the airline is quoted as having said:  “We’ve apologised to those customers who were unable to travel with their luggage due to a temporary technical fault that was outside of our control. Stating further, he said: “This issue has been resolved and we’ve brought in additional colleagues to support our teams in getting bags back to our customers as quickly as possible.”

A research on mishandled baggage at airports pointed to lack of adequate training, long working shifts, conveyor system breakdown, and falling bags, among others, as reasons. It went further using lean six sigma methodology to look at the root causes of such problems and suggest solutions. Airport challenges may not be properly dealt with by addressing the symptoms. Detailed and painstaking research to identify the root cause will very likely result in an optimal solution. There are passengers who use luggage trackers whom it may be wise to listen to when their tracker shows that their luggage may not be travelling with them and they make a report. It might just be a case of a stitch in time saves nine.

Passengers who experience the challenge of their airport baggage are advised to take some steps to reduce the inconvenience of the same. Some steps that can be taken include: Reporting missing baggage immediately to the airline before leaving the airport if the baggage does not arrive at the carousel. The passenger should ensure that baggage receipt and travel itinerary are readily available to show the airline staff dealing with the challenge. Also, be prepared to provide a detailed description. It will entail describing your bag, including its make, model, colour, and any distinctive features. At the same time the airline will give you a report to fill out, which will help them trace your bag.

Where the bag has been delayed, like they say, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, check with your airline to see if it has been located and when it will be delivered to you.

There are passengers who may have travel insurance. This is advised.  Where a passenger has  travel insurance that covers baggage disruption, immediately contact the insurer to see what is covered.

In one case of mishandled luggage, the passenger learnt to make sure the carry-on bag contains a spare pair of pants, a toothbrush and a change of outfit, alongside those all-important English breakfast teabags. And, where he uses a luggage tracker, yet another tracker, just in case his cabin bag goes missing too!

Baggage handling challenge is for all stakeholders at the airport to “put their hands on deck to resolve” no matter the cause. Also, baggage disruption can happen to anyone, and it’s important to stay calm and patient while resolving the issue.

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