Baggage crisis at Prague’s Václav Havel Airport gradually coming under control
Prague’s Václav Havel Airport has been struggling to deal with a baggage-handling crisis that has affected thousands of passengers on both incoming and outgoing flights. The airports’ handling company is taking measures to correct the situation and a special helpline has been set up for passengers whose luggage failed to arrive.
Frequent flight delays, a shortage of baggage handlers and air traffic overload –those were the reasons cited for the chaotic situation at Prague airport these past few days when incoming passengers often had to wait for several hours for their luggage to arrive and outgoing passengers sometimes found that their luggage did not arrive at their destination with them.
The airport says a number of factors contributed to the crisis, among them weather-related flight delays which affected air traffic around Europe and resulted in unexpected pile-ups of flights at certain hours of the day so that handlers were unable to deal with the influx of baggage.
Priority was given to the loading of baggage on departing flights, which often delayed the offloading of baggage of incoming passengers. With emotions running high, airport staff urged passengers who did not want to wait for their baggage, to fill out a form at the baggage reclaim counter or on the airline’s website, assuring them that their luggage would be delivered to their home or hotel free of charge as soon as it arrived.
Airport spokeswoman Klára Divíšková said that all possible measures were taken to ease the crisis, with administrative staff relocated to help in the baggage sorting room and to deal with complaints.
“When several flights are delayed, it creates enormous pressure on baggage handlers. Right now all our employees who can be spared at their desks are helping out and we are very grateful for that. And we apologize once again for the inconvenience caused to passengers. “
The handling company is now scrambling to secure additional staff either directly or through agencies. The airport has also activated a special help line (220 11 1444) for passengers whose luggage did not arrive at its destination. The head of the European Consumer Center Ondřej Tichota says that people can file compensation for the delay in getting their luggage.
“Passengers can get compensation for both the things they were forced to buy because their luggage was not delivered and for the inconvenience of not being able to use their own stuff.”
Divíšková says the worst now appears to be over. Almost 50 per cent of the baggage that arrived late has been delivered to its owners and the rest will be shipped in the course of Thursday. On Wednesday, all flights departed with full loads.
Nevertheless, the main factors, which caused the crisis, air traffic congestion and long delays due to heat storms, will not go away. Airlines, which have been bombarded with complaints, are calling for a systemic solution within the European airspace, which would take into account the fact that the density of air transport over the continent is 10 to 20 percent higher than it was in 2019.
