Company brought in to help alleviate baggage chaos at Edinburgh Airport

The airport, which is not responsible for baggage handling, has employed a new company to help reunite travellers with their bags

Edinburgh Airport has been 'flooded' with unclaimed suitcases and luggage

Bosses at Edinburgh Airport have brought in specialised baggage couriers to help tackle ongoing problems with misplaced or delayed luggage.

The airport – Scotland’s biggest – is not itself responsible for baggage handling, but has made the decision to help mitigate the impact of issues which are ultimately the responsibility of airlines and the air-side companies such as Swissport and Menzies.

The Scotsman revealed last month that Swissport, who operates baggage handling form around two-thirds of Edinburgh’s airlines including Ryanair, had been served with a “deficiency notice” by the airport due to a lack of staff and sufficient equipment and told to improve performance.

Travellers coming into Edinburgh Airport have suffered issues with baggage in recent months.

Sources said Swissport had neither enough baggage staff nor sufficient crates and trailers for luggage, which was causing “die back” or a backlog that had affected other airlines and handling agents.

Delays have continued since the ‘yellow card’ notice, leading the airport to bring in a specialised baggage company, Global Baggage Solutions, to help with the process of reuniting lost passengers with bags.

The company, which also works out of Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester, will help the airport redistribute bags on the same day they arrive into Edinburgh, and is likely to stay in place at the airport beyond the summer.

It is understood that the issues with lost baggage are compounded by delays at hub airports elsewhere and airlines using Edinburgh to reroute delayed or lost bags to passengers who flew into other airports.

This can see bags which are intended for Amsterdam come via Edinburgh on connecting flights, taking advantage of connecting flights but in doing so increasing workload for baggage handlers.

Delays due to air-traffic control strikes or cancellations have also been highlighted as contributing to the problems at Edinburgh.

Swissport said it was hiring additional staff to help tackle the problem which has led to lengthy delays for some passengers waiting to reclaim their bags.

A spokesperson said: “We know how important travel is at this time and we are sorry for our part in the disruption some people have experienced with baggage at Edinburgh Airport.

"Our teams are working hard and we’re doing everything we can to support them, including bringing additional staff from other Swissport locations, so we can mitigate any issues.”

Miles Briggs, the Scottish Conservative MSP for the Lothian region, said: “The situation at Edinburgh Airport, with people's luggage being misplaced, is unacceptable.

"Holidaymakers not being able to get their luggage can ruin a whole trip, with many people spending a lot of money to get away.

"Edinburgh Airport, Swissport and the airlines who use the contractor, must work together to solve this problem urgently. Travellers have lost faith in airlines and airports to be able to get them to their destination without things going wrong."

It is understood, however, that issues with luggage have not worsened due to the Edinburgh Festival due to the number of passengers passing through the airport dropping in August, in line with year-on-year trends.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said: “The transportation, delivery and secure storage of baggage is the responsibility of handling agent companies which are contracted by airlines.

“As an airport we will continue to support our partners where we can, and this includes by sourcing and providing additional resource for them.”