Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Airport chaos? It must be the Bank Holiday...
Baggage system crash as UK bakes
BANK holiday misery hit air travellers when the baggage-handling system at Gatwick broke down on the hottest day of the year.
Many had to fly without luggage while others faced delays of an hour or more. The backlog continued long after the fault was fixed at around 10am yesterday. A spokesman apologised and said they were working to get bags to passengers as soon as possible. The chaos came as a temperature of 29C – the hottest this year – was recorded in Lossiemouth in the Scottish Highlands. The highest number of motorists for four years will hit the road this weekend, the RAC predicts. By 3pm yesterday 300 drivers of overheated vehicles had called the AA – 50% up on normal. Thousands were caught in jams in five different incidents on the M25. And rail passengers did not escape, as speeds on a number of routes were cut amid fears of rails buckling in the heat. Hot air from Europe will push temperatures even higher today before thundery showers sweep in. Sunday will be fresher with more downpours early on Monday.