Belt failure forces Gatwick flights to leave with no bags

PASSENGERS were forced to take off from Gatwick yesterday without their luggage due to a technical fault.

Easyjet customers were among the worst affected, prompting the airline to warn passengers to get to the airport as early as possible.

Many complained of complete chaos in the departure terminal, with one likening

‘Cannot get through to anyone on the phone/keep being cut off. Unimpressed by lack of customer service’

it to “hell on Earth”. Some said they arrived at their destinations to discover that “entire planes” were without their bags.

The problems were due to a baggage belt failure at the airport’s North Terminal that caused severe delays at the bag drop as well as in the delivery of hold luggage to departing aircraft.

Passengers who missed their flights as a result of the congestion were offered free transfers to alternative flights. Gatwick apologised for “any inconvenience” and said the fault had later been fixed, with luggage to be “repatriated” imminently.

Hayley Rayner said on Twitter that her holiday with her twin babies had been “ruined” after they arrived in Spain to find their luggage was not there, including car seats and baby milk. She branded it an “absolute shambles”.

Another passenger said she was in Barcelona, while her bag was in Gatwick and complained they had received no updates for eight hours.

“Cannot get through to anyone on the phone/keep being cut off. Totally unimpressed by lack of customer service and information,” she said.

Passenger Mark Pocock said that staff had “no idea how to manage the situation”.

An easyjet spokesman said: “We are working closely with the airport team to minimise the disruption and return luggage to our passengers as soon as possible.”

A Gatwick spokesman said: “An earlier issue with the check-in baggage system has been resolved and the airport is operating as normal.”