At Bristol Airport, desperate travelers were left with no choice but to sleep on the floor while they anxiously awaited word on their ability to board their flights.
When trying to check in this morning, one traveler even packed an air mattress with them as the lines stretched as early as 4.30am.
Customers had arrived hours before their flights in an effort to get through the already lengthy lines amid the growing travel turmoil.
As thousands of travelers express their disappointment over the loss of their belongings, Heathrow Airport has also noticed hundreds of “unclaimed” luggage filling the terminals.
Photos from inside Heathrow uploaded by a traveler appeared to show scores of bags that had been randomly thrown around the luggage carousels.
In an effort to find their luggage, which was supposed to arrive with them days ago, other distraught travelers have been put on a wild goose chase.
It follows a chaotic weekend in which passengers arriving at Heathrow’s Terminals 2 and 3 were met with a sea of luggage spilling out across the terminals as they arrived from Amsterdam, Canada, and India. Staff reportedly apologized to the worried passengers, saying, “Sorry, the whole industry in a mess.”
Check-in delays, flight delays, and baggage problems have plagued airports for months in the UK, which experts attribute to a general lack of workers in the sector.
The announcement comes as thousands of British Airways employees, including engineers and cabin personnel, have vowed to cause even more mayhem in airports and airlines over the summer vacation.
Over 16,000 employees are being asked by unions if they want to join the more than 700 BA employees who have already agreed to walk out in protest over pay at Heathrow Airport during the summer.
Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, claimed last week that one of the problems with hiring in the UK is due to “British people not wanting to be baggage handlers,” noting that his Irish company has not experienced the same problems.
The low-budget airline has been “completely unaffected” by this summer’s airport congestion, which has caused other British airlines to cancel thousands of flights in part owing to a lack of staff.
On the other hand, Mr. O’Leary claimed that Ryanair was ready for the resumption of pre-Covid levels of travel since it could see the “recovery coming” and had already started its personnel back at work.
Furthermore, he asserted that unlike his rivals, his Irish company could benefit from the European labor market and avoid having to hire British workers who do not want to “pick fruit or work in hospitality, security, or baggage handling at airports.”
As employees went on strike this weekend in Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, Ryanair is also dealing with its own labor disputes in Europe.