Mumbai: A ground handling agency mixed up check-in baggage of passengers of Air China, Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways flights, thus delaying the three international flights by up to two hours early on Sunday morning.
The mix-up happened at the Baggage Makeup Area (BMA). This, according to sources, has been happening for the last few days due to shortage of ground staff at Terminal 2. A few employees are awaiting the renewal of their Airport Entry Pass (AEP), without which they can't work at the terminal. While Singapore Airlines' SQ 423 to Singapore and Etihad Airways' EY 203 to Abu Dhabi were delayed by 20 minutes, Air China's CA 430 to Shanghai was late by 2.15 hours.
The error occurred after the in-line screening of the baggage; the loaders, who are responsible for segregating it by flight numbers, were few and thus faced a problem in doing the job efficiently. "There is a shortage of baggage handling staff at the terminal currently. The ground handling agency for these three airlines has been facing this issue for the past few days now. On Sunday morning, due to fewer workers, the baggage handling and loading process delayed the departure of these flights," explained an airport official.
A senior airport official, while explaining the issue, said, "The yearly AEPs need to be renewed during the year end and many of the ground handling agencies' employees are still awaiting the new AEPs to arrive, without which they cannot allow their staff to operate in the airport premises. The delay had made their absence felt."
04/01/16 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day
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The mix-up happened at the Baggage Makeup Area (BMA). This, according to sources, has been happening for the last few days due to shortage of ground staff at Terminal 2. A few employees are awaiting the renewal of their Airport Entry Pass (AEP), without which they can't work at the terminal. While Singapore Airlines' SQ 423 to Singapore and Etihad Airways' EY 203 to Abu Dhabi were delayed by 20 minutes, Air China's CA 430 to Shanghai was late by 2.15 hours.
The error occurred after the in-line screening of the baggage; the loaders, who are responsible for segregating it by flight numbers, were few and thus faced a problem in doing the job efficiently. "There is a shortage of baggage handling staff at the terminal currently. The ground handling agency for these three airlines has been facing this issue for the past few days now. On Sunday morning, due to fewer workers, the baggage handling and loading process delayed the departure of these flights," explained an airport official.
A senior airport official, while explaining the issue, said, "The yearly AEPs need to be renewed during the year end and many of the ground handling agencies' employees are still awaiting the new AEPs to arrive, without which they cannot allow their staff to operate in the airport premises. The delay had made their absence felt."
04/01/16 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day
