• Iberia Airbus A350-941 EC-NDR
    Iberia
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    IB/IBE
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Madrid Barajas Airport
    Year Founded:
    1927
    Alliance:
    oneworld
    Airline Group:
    IAG
    CEO:
    Javier Sánchez-Prieto
    Country:
    Spain

On Sunday, September 11th, an Iberia flight departed Manchester, UK, without any of the passenger's bags. Passengers were not informed of the dilemma until they had landed in Madrid, Spain. The airline reported that the bags were not loaded due to a shortage of baggage handlers. It stated that the bags would be flown on another flight on Wednesday. The airline has reported that the bags have arrived in Madrid.

Abandoned luggage

The inherently complex nature of the airlines causes the occasional bag to be misplaced now and again. However, an entire flight's worth of missing bags is a rarity. Iberia blamed a third-party baggage handler service that it contracts in Manchester for the discrepancy. It claimed that a shortage of handlers caused the company to decide not to load the plane.

Madrid Airport with an Iberia plane on the apron
Upon arriving in Madrid, the passengers received the unwanted notification that their luggage had been left behind. Photo: Iberia

UPDATE: 2022/09/16 05:43 EST BY RILEY PICKETT

Baggage Delivery

A spokesperson for Iberia has told Simple Flying,

"...all of the bags were regularized yesterday in the I23693 MAN-MAD flight and are being delivered to the passengers."

Having arrived in Madrid, passengers waited at the baggage claim for 30 minutes before they were informed by airport staff that no bags were coming. When confronted by the upset passengers, the airline told them of the problem and clarified that it was not their fault. It claims all passengers have been offered compensation for any essential expenses.

baggage claim heathrow passengers waiting
Passengers waited for over 30 minutes at the baggage claim before contacting the airline. Only then did they airline inform them of the problem. Photo: Heathrow Airport

Passengers continued to call various airline phone numbers for assistance but were turned away time and time again. One passenger stated,

"Every time we call they say they have no information. They have not given us any information and just keep saying they are looking for it. They just say it has not been scanned into the system. It has not been touched by a baggage handler."

Another passenger claims they were not given a Property Incident Report (PIR) following the incident. PIRs serve to help track lost luggage. The passenger recounted a series of dead ends trying to receive assistance without a PIR. He stated,

"I rang the airline the next day [Monday] and they wanted a PIR. At the airport, I was tired and thought I should get something back [when I handed in my form]. Both of them [on the phone] said they knew nothing about it. I then rang the London number, and they also asked me for a PIR and I did not have one. I then rang back [baggage handler] Menzies and he said it was something to do with us but we service all the airlines so I had to go back to Iberia.

"Eventually I got a PIR number and I went on to the online tracker, and it kept saying the 'search continues'. Then they said it would be coming here and I have not had an email [to say so], that was yesterday afternoon."

Responsible party

This summer, airlines have grappled with staffing shortages. A lack of baggage handlers may have prompted this incident; however, this is no excuse for sending a plane with an empty belly. Much of the blame may fall on the third-party company, but once an aircraft is loaded, a weight and balance sheet is drafted and relayed to the airline. This information is processed and forwarded to the pilots to help them know the aircraft's weight distribution.

This indicates that the airline would have received notice that no baggage had been loaded. Instead of delaying the flight so that the ground crew could load the bags, it decided to give it the go-ahead and withhold the information about the luggage left behind.

What do you think of this abandoned luggage? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Manchester Evening News, Business Insider