HEATHROW airport has descended into chaos with suitcases abandoned across terminals while fuming passengers have been forced to miss flight connections.
Ticked-off travellers are telling of pandemonium at the London airport where apologetic staff are saying “the whole industry is a mess”.
The travel industry has been plunged into turmoil in recent weeks due to staff shortages, staff strikes and a soaring demand for holidays.
Passengers have been devastated by last-minute flight cancellations, huge queues and lost baggage as airports struggle to cope.
Shocking snaps show the disarray passengers are attempting to navigate, with thousands of suitcases deserted at both arrivals and departures.
Piles of luggage are seen cordoned off in no particular order – making travellers fear they may not see their belongings again for weeks.
Meanwhile tens of vexed travellers were forced to miss connection flights over a bus blunder.
Passengers have claimed they were left waiting for over an hour for shuttle buses to take them from Terminal three to Terminal five.
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The long wait meant Brits looking forwards to long awaited trips after the pandemic were left grounded through no fault of their own.
Hacked-off holidaymakers took to social media this morning to tell of the havoc being caused by staff shortages.
One person wrote: “Just arrived from Amsterdam and this is how it looks at @HeathrowAirport T3 baggage reclaim…
“Trying to locate my lost bag and staff just said ‘sorry, the whole industry in a mess’.”
Another posted a picture from departures and said: “Just pray your luggage isn’t among these and will actually get on the flight #heathrowairport.
“When those bags are then sent back to the UK they’ll join a collection of unclaimed bags in Terminal 3
“Staff cannot say with confidence when folk’s items will be returned to them, but it could take weeks.”
A third said: @HeathrowAirport a complete disorganized mess.
“Over an hour (and counting) waiting for a terminal bus transfer and the only solace is the fact that British Airways flights are seemingly always delayed.
While a fourth joked: “Arrived 12:28 from Australia into @HeathrowAirport…
“It’s taken my bag longer to get from the plane to the baggage hall than the plane took to get from France to the gate.
“Every time. When did the UK get this s**t at simple stuff?”
STAFFING CRISIS
In airports across the country, travellers are already feeling the strain of a wide-spread staffing crisis.
Yesterday Brits heading on holidays were hit with queues more than "three times the length of the airport" in Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.
And now airports are descending into further chaos due to strikes.
Last night it was revealed that thousands MORE more British Airways staff could go on strike.
Some 16,000 BA workers are threatening to join 700 Heathrow Airport check-in staff in a planned walk-out.
The workers, all of whom are based at Heathrow and are members of the GMB and Unite unions, could down tools as early as July 8.
Meanwhile staff from budget airline Ryanair in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and Belgium will walk out in a row over pay and working conditions.
The Belgian strike was the most recently announced and will take place from Friday until Sunday.
EasyJet airline reportedly plans to axe almost 10,000 MORE flights.
The cancellations – which are likely to include flights to holiday hotspots like Greece and Spain – will take place during July, August and September.
It has already scrapped seven per cent of the 16,000 journeys it is expected to run between July and September.
Earlier this week, more than 15,000 passengers were left in the lurch after Heathrow Airport cancelled ten per cent of its plane journeys.
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Photos taken at airports up and down the country have shown holiday hopefuls spread out across the floors with bags piling up in the travel carnage.
The Sun has approached London Heathrow for comment.
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