What the baggage handler saw

I have been a baggage handler for more than a decade and this is the worst disruption I have ever seen across the whole airport.

Before this year, I had never seen pilots helping to load and unload suitcases. In recent weeks, I have seen captains and first officers mucking in. At other airports, I hear it is now commonplace.

We’ve had staffing issues in the past but never across every single part of the airport, from security to the cafés. The junior staff are in tears as a result of the stress and even some of the experienced workers are emotional wrecks and are leaving.

Passengers are waiting up to six hours for their bags. The other day I saw a cleaner driving the