London Heathrow Airport: Baggage problem persists, 30 flights cancelled

Based on the reports, the problem arose because of a staff shortage at the airport as well as an increasing number of passengers during the peak summer season, reports IANS.

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Technical problems with luggage systems at London's Heathrow Airport resulted in the cancellation of 30 flights, affecting up to 5,000 passengers. According to the BBC, the airport urged airlines to remove 10% of flights from their itineraries at terminals two and three. It went on to say that reducing the number of flights will help to "minimise" the impact of the technical problems. 

It is to be noted that the pictures of the piles of baggage at the Heathrow airport went viral on the internet after some passengers shared them on social media. In addition, the affected flight operations from the airport also included flights of Indian Airlines such as Air India. Earlier, Air India, in a tweet, informed the passengers that they might get their baggage late because of the problem at the Heathrow airport.

"We apologise unreservedly for the disruption passengers have faced over the course of this weekend." British Airways, which operates from Heathrow`s terminals three and five, told the BBC that it had made a "small number of cancellations" as a result of the airport`s request.

In recent weeks, tens of thousands of passengers have been hit by airport disruption and flight cancellations in the UK, raising concerns of additional travel woes during the summer, said the BBC. One of the main reasons behind the disruptions was staff shortages. The Gatwick airport has said it will reduce the number of flights taking off from its airport during the peak summer season because of staff shortages.

With inputs from IANS