Baggage woes in London have made their way across the pond as British Airways passengers, including some in Denver, try to track down bags that didn’t show up when they landed.
The airline has had “baggage issues” for the past few weeks, and security issues are among the reasons for the problems, British Airways spokeswoman Michele Kropf said an e-mail.
British Airways flies daily between Denver and London.
“We have been working around the clock and expect to have cleared the backlog by the end of the week,” Kropf said in the message Friday. The airline, which has gone through labor issues recently, has been getting volunteers from its business to help.
“However, it may take a few more days before everyone receives their bags,” she said.
According to earlier U.K. media reports, the backlog amounted to about 20,000 bags. Kropf said the number has varied, depending on the conditions at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Bad weather in Europe and recent security incidents in Glasgow, Scotland, and London are among the factors contributing to the baggage problems, according to Kropf.
On June 29, police defused two car bombs in London. Then the next day, two people rammed a Jeep Cherokee with gas cylinders and gasoline into Glasgow’s airport terminal.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration tightened security, adding random vehicle checks at passenger drop-off areas at airports across the country.
Marilynn Ackermann, who lives in Denver, finally got her baggage delivered Friday after returning from a trip June 26. She said it was moldy and some of the contents were damaged.
Out of a group of 20 on the trip, she said four didn’t get their luggage when they landed.
“I’m really disappointed,” she said.
She said she was told by the airline that one of the reasons bags have been left behind is that heat in London led to tighter weight restrictions.
The airline came in last among airlines ranked by the Association of European Airlines for baggage handling in 2006, with 23 bags missing per 1,000 passengers.
