Cork family's holiday luggage left on runway as plane takes off 

Shane Mee, 12, with the luggage once it finally made the journey to Greece. Picture: Amanda Mee

After two years of pandemic stress, one Cork family were thrilled to finally be heading away for a holiday but a baggage nightmare ensured their trip was far from relaxing.

Amanda Mee and her family were due to fly out to Rhodes, Greece on Wednesday, July 6 for a week in the sun.

After arriving at Dublin Airport and getting checked in, they waited three hours only to be told that their flight with TUI had been cancelled and had been rescheduled for the following morning.

The passengers were left facing a further three hours in the airport awaiting information and to collect their luggage.

Although they were missing one day out of their one-week trip, Ms Mee was just happy that they would still get to go on their holiday and they checked into a nearby hotel for the night.

The following morning, after boarding the plane, an announcement was made that the flight would be delayed as they were waiting for the luggage to be loaded onto the aircraft. Ms Mee could see the luggage being wheeled out and left on the tarmac by the plane.

"Next thing, the door closed and the luggage still hadn't gone into the plane. We were all looking out the windows and the next thing we just started driving," she said.

"One woman was ringing the buzzer like mad, she had what looked to be a newborn baby on her lap. She was asking 'Where are we going? All of my baby's things are down there'. But we heard nothing, that was it. We took off."

Shortly after take-off, a flight attendant announced to passengers that the pilot had to make the decision to either take off without the bags or not take off at all.

Ms Mee, a newsroom assistant for the Examiner, was hopeful the bags would be with them by the following day. However, in the following days, she had to keep chasing up the matter herself, describing the communication with passengers as desperate.

Affected passengers — a small number of items were loaded onto the plane before take-off — were told to fill out a form as they were entitled to claim €100 per missing bag.

Where Ms Mee was staying was quite remote and a taxi to the nearest town cost a minimum of €44 each way "so that's your €100 gone there".

It was not until Monday that Ms Mee and her family were reunited with their belongings, 48 hours before they were due to head home. TUI apologised for the initial delayed flight citing operational challenges.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, TUI said: "We kept customers updated throughout the delay and also provided overnight accommodation, meals and refreshments as needed. Customers are entitled to EU 261 compensation and details of how to claim have been provided.

"Unfortunately, due to issues with a baggage belt at Dublin Airport, customers’ luggage could not be loaded onto the aircraft in time for departure on 7 July and had to be sent on an alternative flight."

Shane Mee, 12, with the luggage once it finally made the journey to Greece. Picture: Amanda Mee

Daa, the group that manages Dublin Airport,  said they are aware of the issues some passengers are facing regarding baggage return but said this is the responsibility of the airline and their chosen handling partner.

Daa said they are liaising closely with airlines and their ground handling companies in relation to the issues "the root of which lies in the significant staff hiring challenges that are facing all companies operating in the aviation sector currently".

Swissport, one of several baggage handlers at Dublin Airport, told the Irish Examiner that for their part the team is largely meeting their turnaround targets for luggage at the moment.

A spokesperson said he was informed the team had been assisting other companies with customer requests and sorting through missing baggage.

"Everyone is working together to try and resolve these delays."

They added: "Swissport understand baggage delays are really frustrating for passengers and they are working closely with airline and airport partners to process luggage as fast as possible."

The spokesperson said one reason for the delays is thought to be because bags from a range of airports and operators are not being loaded onto connecting flights into Dublin.

So the local teams are receiving batches of 'off-schedule' luggage that must be sorted through and is then causing a knock-on effect and creating challenges at what is already a busy time for airports.

Passengers experiencing issues with their baggage are advised to make contact with their chosen airline.