HUNDREDS of suitcases piled up at Heathrow Airport yesterday, as passengers were told they may not get their luggage back for two days.
A sea of bags spread across the airport floor in Terminal 2 after the luggage belts broke, leaving passengers stranded without their belongings.
Photos and videos shared on social media showed rows of multi-coloured suitcases stretching out at the UK’s busiest airport.
Holidaymakers posted online in shock at the carnage, labelling it “utter bedlam”, a “nightmare” and a “s*** show”.
A Sky News reporter who witnessed the mayhem said: “When I stepped outside I could see this crazy mass of suitcases filling the pavement like an enormous luggage carpet.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Though it did seem to be trying to be organised chaos.
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“Officials looked to be trying to arrange the suitcases next to poles with letters from the alphabet stuck on them – maybe it was to correspond with the name of the owner of each bag.
“It looked to be an epic task.”
Another Sky News editor said: “Passengers are being told they may not get their luggage for two days.
“One passenger was overheard saying ‘but I’m climbing Kilimanjaro tomorrow I need all my stuff’.”
One stranded traveller wrote on Twitter: “#heathrow bag drop completely down across the airport.
“No check in luggage going on any planes. And security queues stretching outside the entrance to the airport.”
But others made a joke out of the situation, with one person tweeting: “Heathrow and baggage system failures are an iconic duo”.
And another said: “All hail the Great Heathrow Baggage Mountain
”.
A Heathrow spokesperson apologised for the chaos, saying: “Earlier today there was a technical issue with the Terminal 2 baggage system which has now been resolved.
“Passengers are now able to check-in as normal, but a number of passengers who departed from Terminal 2 earlier today may have travelled without their luggage.
“We are working closely with airlines to reunite passengers with their luggage as soon as possible.
“We’re sorry there’s been disruption to passenger journeys.”
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The pile-up comes after weeks of holiday hell as airlines have been cancelling flights and airports have been crammed with Brits desperate for a getaway after years of lockdowns.
EasyJet and British Airways were forced to cancel hundreds of short-haul flights, many from London Gatwick airport, as holiday bookings heat up for the summer.
Heathrow itself has cut passenger capacity by a third until next month to try and stem the flow of travellers through its terminals.
The airport issued a stark warning that without the move its buildings would not be safe.
A spokesperson said: “Many airlines have flagged that they have already cancelled flights because of their own resourcing issues over the summer.
“Our primary concern is the safe operation of the airport and we will continue to support the airlines to make safe decisions for passengers during this period.
“As noted above, we are expecting lots of people to travel over the summer with passenger numbers across many days reaching levels last seen before the pandemic.”
