Edinburgh Airport baggage fiasco: Anger at cases left unattended in terminal corridor

Handling agent Swissport and airport say they don’t know who is responsible

Angry passengers have condemned Edinburgh Airport’s mislaid baggage fiasco as “absolutely horrendous” after piles of unattended suitcases were spotted in a corridor near an exit from the terminal.

They said the bags, some in open wire cages, could easily have been taken by anyone passing that section of the “land side” section of the building, which needs no security checks to enter.

The pictures taken on Thursday were sent to The Scotsman a week after similar scenes were photographed by another passenger. Swissport, the baggage handling agent involved, said the luggage had not been put there by its staff, while both the firm and the airport said they did not know who was responsible.

Unattended bags, including some in open cages, in an Edinburgh Airport terminal corridor on Thursday. (Photo by Louise Murray)

Details of the latest security lapse comes a day after The Scotsman revealed scammers had demanded thousands of pounds from a visiting student for the return of her mislaid bag after she was told to leave a completed missing baggage form at an unstaffed desk in the terminal.

It follows weeks of major disruption to baggage and flights, which have been blamed on staff shortages among handling agents such as Swissport, which is employed by 26 airlines at the airport. Passengers have waited hours for their cases at baggage reclaim or had them mislaid.

There have also been long waits for passengers disembarking from flights because of lack of staff to move aircraft steps into position. Swissport has been issued with a yellow card-style “deficiency notice” by the airport.

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

Luggage left unattended in Edinburgh Airport's terminal last week. (Photo by Karen McAvoy)

Passenger Louise Murray passed the stacks of unattended bags beside a branch of Costa Coffee while returning to the airport to try to find her case, which had been missing for five days. She said: “There were cages of missing luggage lying in the main thoroughfare of the terminal on the corridor out towards the car park and taxis.

"There was no member of staff watching the cages, so anyone could have helped themselves and no one would have been any the wiser. The situation is absolutely horrendous.

"I was appalled when I saw where they had been left. It’s very difficult to overlook such gross incompetence and complete disregard for people’s personal property. No one at a senior level seems to be taking responsibility for it.”

Karen McAvoy, another passenger who came across unattended baggage in the same corridor last week, said: “Chaotic scenes. We could not believe this was the service in Scotland’s capital city’s airport. Very embarrassing.

“There was luggage ‘stored’ randomly everywhere, in the baggage area and beyond, meaning no security at all. Not secure whatsoever. I’m flying from Edinburgh again in a few weeks and worried about how our luggage will fare."

Edinburgh Airport said it was not responsible for baggage, which was a matter for airlines and their handling agents, and its own staff had not been involved with the corridor baggage. Swissport said the bags had not been put in the corridor by its staff, but when the company was notified the luggage was there, it was “promptly moved by Swissport to a secure location for processing”.