The plane took off from Zurich with 111 passengers but without any luggage. The company apologized to passengers, blaming a lack of ground staff.
Passengers on a Swiss flight from Zurich to Bilbao had the unpleasant surprise, landing in Spain on Saturday, to discover that their luggage had not made the trip. They waited for more than two hours in front of the conveyor belt for the arrival of their suitcases before hearing the news, reports the daily Blick.
Swiss spokesman Kavin Ampalam confirmed that the plane, operated on behalf of the airline Edelweiss, took off with 111 passengers but no luggage on board.
“There was a lack of ground staff,” he told AFP, adding that the crew had initially waited for the situation to be regularized.
Passengers not informed of abandoned baggage
But after more than an hour “the situation was still unchanged and, for operational reasons, we decided to fly to Bilbao without luggage”, explains Kavin Ampalam.
The reason, he said, was the need to pick up other passengers in Bilbao and get the plane back to Zurich before the airport closed for the night.
“We regret the inconvenience caused,” he said.
Blick quoted passengers saying the pilot had apologized for the delayed takeoff in Zurich, blaming “a lack of qualified personnel”, but did not mention the decision to abandon their luggage.
“Our holidays are ruined”
The passengers claimed that no Swiss personnel were present on the ground in Bilbao and that they then waited more than two hours to collect their luggage before staff from the Spanish airline Iberia informed them that the plane had landed without luggage on board.
“Our vacation is ruined,” passenger Carsten Redlich told Blick.
The Swiss spokesman said he could not confirm that passengers were not informed of the decision to leave their luggage in Zurich. “We are still analyzing the situation to find out what exactly happened. This should not happen,” he said.
Source: BFM TV
