Northwich councillor left with no luggage on TUI holiday

Cllr Sam Naylor said the situation at Manchester Airport was 'carnage' and that travel company TUI were seemingly trying to pass the buck on who is responsible for the fiasco.

The problems began on Friday (May 27) when Cllr Naylor travelled to Manchester Airport to drop off luggage for his flight the following morning – as per a request from TUI.

“It was utter carnage,” Cllr Naylor said.

“There were hundreds of people waiting and at one point, there was just one guy on the baggage desk.

“He was trying his best but was obviously fighting a losing battle.”

After getting back home at around midnight, Cllr Naylor was back in the airport just hours later to board his early morning flight to Mallorca, but the problems continued.

“We boarded the plane but then sat on the tarmac for nearly three hours,” he said.

“The pilot said there was an issue with luggage, but after this was apparently resolved, we took off to a round of applause.

“But when we landed in Palma, there was another two-hour wait and although a lot of passengers got their luggage, there was around 50 of us who didn’t.”

Northwich councillor Sam Naylor said Manchester Airport was "carnage"

The one-week long holiday was booked to celebrate the wedding anniversary of life-long friends, but Cllr Naylor said it had been 'ruined'.

“We’re now into day three of the holiday and still no luggage.

“TUI are not taking any responsibility whatsoever and blaming the airport.

“We don’t even know where our luggage is – we suspect it’s at Manchester, but we don’t know either way.

“It doesn’t look like we’re going to get it back as no-one knows how many hundreds or thousands of suitcases there are stuck there.

“I know the situation at the airport is tough at the moment due to the staff shortages.

“But the way our country is at the moment – it’s a shambles.

“If you've got a major airport that can’t operate properly then maybe they need to send the army in to help out.

“What was supposed to be a really special occasion holiday has been completely ruined.”

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “We are aware of challenges being faced by a number of airlines and handling agents, which is leading to delays at check-in and baggage issues for some passengers.

“Airlines and their ground handlers are responsible for their own check-in and baggage handling services. Passengers are advised to direct any questions or concerns about these issues, or anything relating to their flight, to their airline, who will be best placed to respond.

“However, this is not the experience we want passengers to have at Manchester Airport and we are sorry to hear customers have faced disruption.

“We are in contact with the senior management teams of the relevant airlines and ground handlers to understand the cause of these issues, and to support their efforts to resolve them as quickly as possible.

“Our colleagues are on hand in the terminal to provide assistance to customers and we are working hard to ensure security waiting times are as quick as possible.

“It remains our advice that passengers should arrive three hours before their flight and to be as prepared as they can be for their journey through the airport.”

A spokesman for TUI said: "We’re aware that some customers have been impacted by baggage delays at Manchester Airport and we’d like to thank customers for their patience and understanding at this exceptionally busy time.

"We’re working closely with airport staff, baggage handlers and our teams in resort to ensure customers receive their luggage as soon as possible.

"We’ll be in direct contact with customers once we have more information to share."