Dear Reader

IT WAS the sign saying ‘Thank you for your patience’ at the Port of Dover yesterday that struck me as especially insulting — and facile. Not that I was one of those waiting up to six hours to board a ferry bound for France during another calamitous day for holidaymakers, with a further one almost certainly in the offing today.

Still, at least travelling by car means you’ll arrive with your luggage. Which hasn’t been the case for many people landing back at UK airports, due almost entirely to the lack of sufficient baggage handlers.

These airport workers — including some check-in staff — are not employed directly by the airports but by outside contracted companies, and during the pandemic thousands of them left the industry.

It was depressing this week to hear a skilled luggage container driver tell the BBC Panorama programme that he prefers working as a taxi driver — but understandable because for years ground handlers have been poorly remunerated and on short-term contracts.

We’ve received dozens of emails and letters from travellers who have had their bags lost or had to wait for days to retrieve them. The best chance of making a successful claim is through your travel insurance, unless you like listening to recorded messages on airline customer service telephone lines. Just make sure you fill out a ‘property irregularity report’ before leaving the airport.

I remember landing in Beirut, pictured, a few years ago and waiting impatiently by the carousel. My bag was nowhere to be seen. First stop next morning was a department store where I bought some shorts and a couple of cheap shirts.

‘You look ridiculous,’ said my wife as I tried on the shorts, which were overly baggy, with huge pockets down the sides — the sort of garment young Los Angeles skateboarders wear. I was reacquainted with my bag three days later on returning to the airport. The truly ‘ridiculous’ part was that I never even bothered to make a claim.