Edinburgh Airport baggage disruption: Which airlines are affected? What’s causing the delays and mislaid bags?

Handling agent Swissport worst affected but wider problems

Passengers flying with some airlines into and out of Edinburgh Airport are suffering significant baggage disruption – but which carriers are affected and what’s causing the problems?

Angry and upset travellers have contacted The Scotsman having endured long waits for their luggage at baggage reclaim after landing at Scotland’s busiest airport. Others have been even more annoyed after flying from Edinburgh to find their bags have not reached their destination and have been mislaid.

They have sent photos of baggage piling up in the terminal, even outside the reclaim area on the “landside” of the building outside the secure zone.

Baggage piling up at Edinburgh Airport on Wednesday. Picture: Karen McAvoy

For some holidaymakers and other fliers, the situation will bring back unwelcome memories of last summer at the airport, when passengers were greeted with similar scenes.

This is despite the airport and major airlines expressing confidence there would be no repeat of such disruption this year after lessons were learned and seasonal staff recruited earlier.

What is the current problem at Edinburgh Airport?

There appear to be several, separate issues, but the main one is with Swissport, one of three handling agents at the airport, which is responsible for check-in, baggage and other services such as aircraft steps for 26 airlines there, including Ryanair, Edinburgh’s biggest, which carries one in three of its passengers.

Some luggage is being stored "landside" in the terminal at Edinburgh Airport. Picture: Karen McAvoy

Swissport is understood to be having recruitment difficulties and is short of both staff and equipment such as luggage crates and trailers to move bage between the terminal and aircraft. The shortage has been linked to increased passenger abuse of staff, which prompted the GMB union to threaten a strike ballot, which has since been lifted.

Swissport has drafted in what’s thought to be dozens of experienced extra staff from other airports in an attempt to resolve the problem.

Which airlines is Swissport the handling agent for?

Aegean Airlines

Air Canada

Air France

Aer Lingus

Albastar

Atlantic Airlines

Balkan Holidays

Brussels Airlines

Delta

Eurowings

Finnair

Freebird

Hainan Airlines

Jet2

KLM

Lauda

Norwegian

Qatar

Ryanair

SAS

Transavia

TUI

Turkish Airlines

Virgin Atlantic

WestJet

Wizz Air

How about the other airlines – who are their handling agents?

Easyjet, Edinburgh’s second biggest airline, is handled by WFS. The remaining ten airlines are handled by Menzies Aviation:

Air Baltic

British Airways

Edelweiss

Iberia

Loganair

Lufthansa

Sun Express

Titan Airways

United Airlines

Vueling Airlines

What is the airport doing?

The airport’s staff are not directly responsible for check-in or baggage, but it has issued Swissport with a deficiency notice – a bit like a yellow card – requiring a remedial plan within days. It is understood the plan is still being worked on, but a source said the situation was “improving”.

Are there other baggage problems at Edinburgh Airport?

To make matters worse – and more complicated, yes, it appears so. The airport said it had suffered a knock-on effect from difficulties at other airports, including in other countries. This is understood to include baggage bound for other airports being diverted to Edinburgh instead, for onward transit. Full details of this have yet to emerge, including which handling agents it is affecting.

What about Scotland’s other major airports, Glasgow and Aberdeen?

It is understood that AGS, which runs them along with Southampton, is not aware of any baggage problems at its airports.