Highland tourist raises concerns over baggage handling in the region after British Airways and other carriers hit by bag disruption flying from Heathrow
A FREQUENT flyer whose dream holiday to the Highlands was hit by baggage delays has urged airlines to do better to tackle the issue.
Retired couple Martin Levy and his wife Lisa, who live in California, flew into Inverness Airport from Heathrow recently for a tour of the North Coast 500 and other Highland and Moray sights.
But the start to their holiday was blighted by lost and delayed baggage headaches after a number of airlines flying in and out of Heathrow were hit by logistical problems at the airport on July 19.
Although he initially chalked this up to the luck of the draw, and an unfortunate fact of flying that can sometimes rear its head, he said he began to rethink this after numerous taxi drivers in the Inverness area said it "happens often" without being prompted.
"We flew up from London and discovered that most of the checked bags had not been loaded onto the plane," he said.
"Okay, so that happens now and again and it’s not news. Not even close.
"Yet, our taxi driver commented 'yeah, that happens often'. Then the next day, our second taxi driver repeated the statement. Weird right?
"Well it took us two days and two trips to the airport to retrieve our bags. But what’s interesting is, while Inverness is a somewhat small airport, the baggage folks there [were] sitting on rooms of non-delivered late bags.
"Let me clearly state this – the Inverness Airport baggage staff are brilliant! They have been so, so helpful. They clearly have the patience of saints."
But he was less than fulsome when it came to his airline carrier, British Airways, who he accused of being unhelpful helpful, and of hiding behind a lost bags contact number that "is next to useless".
"I'm a longstanding BA flyer. I've flown them all over the world, and around the UK. Will I fly them again? Yes? But it's clear that if I'm flying domestic again (i.e. Heathrow to Inverness), I will carry on my roll-suitcase (it's small enough).
"I normally do. In fact I 99 per cent do. We were just being wonderfully lazy and wanted an easy Heathrow experience. We screwed that up!
"I prefer to fly from London City when inside the UK; however, that was not an option for us last week. London City Airport would not have this issue!"
British Airways has insisted that the issue was outwith their control, and as caused by wider issues with Heathrow Airport's baggage system on that date.
Related: Loganair's early morning Inverness to Manchester flight cancelled
The firm said that the issue not only affected the transfer baggage system but that it also had a knock-on effect on the overall baggage system too. This resulted in delays to "a higher than usual amount of baggage", which also impacted all airlines.
A spokesman said: "As a result of a Heathrow Airport baggage system failure, some customers experienced delays in their baggage reaching their final destination. We apologised to customers and our teams worked hard to get their bags to them as quickly as possible."
Meanwhile, Martin and Lisa didn't let their baggage woes harm the enjoyment of their holiday, having travelled extensively in the past. Martin, who was born in Britain but moved to the US more than 40 years ago, has visited more than 100 countries, and Lisa – who is American – is also well travelled.
But although they've visited Scotland before, it was their first experience of the far north, and the baggage issues did hit their itinerary – meaning they didn't arrive at Urquhart Castle on one of the days until too late for a proper tour, and a planned trip to Elgin was also axed.
However, the pair did not let that stop them or put them off.
Martin was also full of praise for the Rocpool Hotel, "who were beyond nice and understanding" about the pair's baggage woes, and also served some of the nicest kippers Martin said he'd ever had.
He added: "[It's] a stunning area. We loved it – even with the occasional rains. In the Inverness area, we got to Cawdor Castle and Gardens one of the days and the gardens were stunning. I must say, Inverness and the north coast was quite wonderful."
