Mumbai airport goof-up? Baggage mix-up delays 3 international flights

Terminal 2 of Mumbai airport ground handling agency blames staff crunch for mixing up baggage of passengers flying to Singapore, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi

Travelling abroad anytime soon? You might have a reason to worry. 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.
Sources say the shortage of staff has been causing problems for the last few days at Terminal 2 of the airport. Representation Pic/AFP
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." While airport sources confirmed the delay, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson said, "Singapore Airlines flight SQ 423 did not experience any delay due to baggage security screening. The delay was due to the late arrival of incoming aircraft SQ 424 and air traffic congestion." Etihad Airways refused to comment on the matter.

Loading process

After being submitted by the passenger, the baggage is sent for in-line screening. This process includes four levels of scanning a particular suspicious baggage. When the baggage fails the first scan, it has to pass through the second scan. A baggage that gets an all-okay is passed to the loaders standing at the Baggage Makeup Area at the end of the scanner. If a suspicious baggage fails scanning four times, the passenger is called in for a physical check. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vistara Domestic Premium Economy vs. Economy – Is The Upgrade Worth It?

Economy on Vistara As one of only two  full-service carriers  in India, Vistara offers a high-quality economy product. On its A320, which used on most domestic routes, it offers 18-inch wide seats with a pitch of 29-30 inches. While this does sound standard, the well-padded seats and adjustable headrest make for a much more comfortable offering than its low-cost competitors. The seats also offer an acceptable 3″ recline. In terms of service, Vistara is one of the few airlines offering hot meals on domestic routes (minus short routes under an hour). All economy passengers, except those booked on Economy Lite fares, receive a meal along with hot or cold beverages. From personal experience, the meals are good and enough for domestic hops. For those traveling on Lite fares, only complimentary hot beverages are available. Vistara also has a small buy-on-board menu, which features packaged snacks and drinks, along with some hot instant meals. Originally, the airline served all passenger’s me
Read more

Why the Airbus A340 Has A Middle Landing Gear

Image
The  Airbus A340  was specially designed for long haul flying and had something not seen with other widebody aircraft flying today. It was a unique middle landing gear that allowed the plane to take off with heavier loads and carry more fuel for its four hungry engines. What is the middle landing gear? If you have ever looked carefully at a picture of an A340 (or if you are lucky, in real life), you might have noticed an extra landing gear on the belly in the middle of the plane. Here it is on a Virgin Atlantic  Airbus A340-600  to the rear of the aircraft. Looking at the bottom of an A340 you’ll see that there are already two other sets of landing gears under the wings, why would an aircraft need a third in the middle? Why some A340s have the middle landing gear Plain and simple, the extra landing gear allows the A340 aircraft to have a higher MTOW (maximum take-off weight). This means more passengers and cargo, plus more fuel to go a longer distance. Perfect for t
Read more

Preparing To Start Domestic Flight Operations Within A Week: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri

The domestic flight operations are likely to resume within a week, says Union Civil Aviation Minister  Hardeep Singh Puri . The commercial flight operations remain suspended since March 24 after the announcement of nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. In an interview with  Outlook ’s  Preetha Nair , the Union Minister also talks about the government’s massive plan to evacuate stranded Indians and the logistical challenges involved. He also says a decision on operating flights between green zones of the country will soon be taken. You have hinted that the commercial flight operations are set to begin after May 15 in a calibrated way. Can you elaborate? We are preparing to start domestic flight operations even before May 15. My effort will be to try and move in the direction of starting it very soon. I can’t put a date on it because when you are planning evacuation operations, you need the co-operation of the state governments. In order to open up domestic civil avia
Read more