Heathrow backlog leaves Air Malta passengers frustrated with lost, delayed baggage

A technical malfunction at London Heathrow Airport has left hundreds of passengers without luggage, and travellers with Air Malta were of no exception over the weekend.

Passengers faced two-hour delays to collect their baggage from Heathrow’s Terminal 2, while a number of passengers who departed from the same terminal had to travel to their destinations without their checked-in belongings.

Air Malta passengers travelling to and from Heathrow Airport faced the same problems over the weekend. A spokesperson for the airline told MaltaToday that the company is in constant contact with the airport’s authorities to reunite passengers with their luggage as soon as possible.

“The airline apologised to its passengers for this delay but unfortunately this is due to circumstances beyond its control, and it is totally reliant upon London Heathrow Airport sorting out the bags and delivering these to airlines to in turn, allow airlines to forward them to their customers.”

The backlog in undelivered luggage stemmed from a technical malfunction in the terminal’s bassage system. The malfunction has since been fixed, but it could still take days for accumulated luggage to arrive in the hands of their owners.

Air Malta temporarily relocated to Terminal 2 at the start of the pandemic following a slowdown in air travel.

However, the airline will be transferring its operations back to Heathrow’s Terminal 4 on Wednesday 22 June. The airline says that this plan is still on track despite the luggage issues.