British Airways deliberately stopped loading luggage on flights on Thursday evening as it tried to keep up with a surge in demand while battling a staffing crisis that has already resulted in several operational meltdowns at the London-based airline over the last few months.
One of the busiest travel days of the year has prompted the airline to stop loading luggage on short-haul flights.
British Airways was forced to cancel or delay flights due to not having enough staff available to unload bags from planes that have arrived at its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
The hope is that by not bothering to load luggage on planes in the first place, it will allow the airline to continue operating flights and get passengers where they want to be.
The airline asked passengers to report missing bags and wait for them to be sent separately in the coming days, as complaints started to pour in from disgruntled customers.
British Airways says it is facing a staffing crunch because the aviation industry is facing delays in security vetting which is preventing newly hired employees from starting work.
The industry was forced to lay off thousands of employees at the height of the Pandemic because of travel restrictions, but they are facing more challenges than just security vetting delays.
The airline has already trimmed its schedule through to the end, after the chief executive admitted that customers and staff were "rightly fed up" with the situation.
In the last few days, airlines around the world have experienced similar issues.
Mateusz Maszczynski As an international flight attendant, Maszczynski worked for the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying for a well-known European airline during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Matt is an expert in passenger experience and human-centered stories. Constantly keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage is often relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.
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