Shock photos reveal mountains of luggage at Heathrow after dozens of British Airways flights cancelled
LONDON’S Heathrow Airport was left in chaos after it was swamped with unclaimed luggage as British Airways cancelled dozens of flights.
Heavy storms and downpours in Europe forced air traffic controllers to enforce tight restrictions across the continent, leaving travellers frustrated.
British Airways cancelled at least 60 flights on Friday, alone, affecting some 10,000 passengers, as routes to Toulouse and Milan, among others, were withdrawn.
Photos show scores of suitcases and bags abandoned and sprawled across the floor of the Terminal 5 building during the weekend.
Many passengers took to social media to vent their frustrations.
One traveller said on social media: “We are yet to find our missing luggage. We flew from Heathrow to Abuja yesterday.
“Arriving Abuja this morning we could not find one of our checked in luggage.
“The luggage was checked in by one of your officers yesterday at Heathrow terminal 5.”
Another wrote: “So we have travelled to Bangkok and Singapore and our luggage is still with British Airways at Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
“Exactly where it was on Thursday evening. Frustratingly we knew that it was just 20 metres from us when we tried to have it released from baggage at Terminal 5.”
A British Airways spokesperson said: “Like all airlines, we experienced disruption to our flights last week due to Air Traffic Control restrictions imposed as a result of adverse weather across the UK and Europe which was outside of our control.”
They added: “Our teams have been working hard to sort, fly and courier the bags of customers impacted by the disruption to them as quickly as possible.”
The situation appears to have started on Thursday after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning covering England and sparked disruption for those wanting to get their summer holiday underway.
London City Airport felt the repercussions with British Airways suspending a number of flights to destinations including Palma, Berlin and Glasgow.
BA flights from Gatwick were also cancelled, including to Agadir and Heraklion, on the Greek island of Crete.
The Sun Online has contacted British Airways for an update.
It comes after Just Stop Oil protesters tried to bring chaos to Heathrow earlier this month when they attempted to block off the security gates.
Just Stop Oil protesters could be seen holding their bright orange signs, trying to form a line in front of the departure gates at the busy London airport.
The eco idiots planted themselves on the ground in front of the gates before being hauled away by cops.
It comes just days after the group sprayed orange paint all over Heathrow’s departure terminal before planting themselves on the ground.
