On Friday July 1, thousands of pieces of luggage remained blocked at Roissy airport, including around 17,000 for Air France alone. If some travelers are worried about never seeing their luggage again, the company assures that the problem will be quickly resolved.
“ We waited three quarters of an hour for our luggage to arrive, without success.“says Virginie de Tarlé. Friday, July 1, this French left with her two sons for a vacation in Washington with an Air France flight but, on arrival, no luggage. These remained at Roissy airport. In total, there are almost 20,000 pieces of luggage blocked in Paris, including just over 17,000 for Air France alone. An unprecedented situation which is explained by the social movement of last week, resulting in the delay in the opening of the baggage sorter managed by Aéroports de Paris (ADP). Added to this is a computer problem at Air France when checking in passengers traveling with the French company. “We had a very difficult day on Friday, with the delay in opening the baggage sorter, about forty of our flights before 9 a.m. left without suitcases “, we confirm at Air France. Both groups blame each other for the problem.
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Either way, most families were caught off guard, like Virginie: “ We were leaving for two weeks on a traveling trip and there we had nothing left, we had to buy everything back, I got an extra 1200 euros“, she relates. La Française also regrets a lack of communication on the part of Air France: “ We have not received any mail from the company, I discovered the extent of the problem in the press“, she explains. She recounts the difficulties encountered in declaring the loss of luggage: “ I had to fill out an online form which only worked after 24 hours. This gave me access to a tracking number. Right now I now need to fill in my baggage inventory but the form is crashing again“, she describes, bitter.
On the Air France side, we are defending ourselves. “ The Air France chief executive sent an apology email on Sunday evening, explaining that the operating conditions on Friday were not what customers were entitled to expect. “, we add within the company.
Airlines responsible for baggage handling
“I have never seen such a situation“, notes Laurent Dahyot, secretary general of the CGT Air France. The trade unionist confirms that the social movement has generated a delay in the opening of the baggage sorter, which Roissy airport has maintenance. The result, according to him, of the lack of manpower. A factor at the origin, in part, of the social movement: “ At the handling positions there is no one left, even more so since the Covid, the airport is having a lot of trouble recruiting “, he reports.
For his part, a source at ADP confirms the double concern caused by the social conflict on Friday July 1st but estimates that the direct impact of the strike concerns only 15 flights and 1500 pieces of luggage, the rest being linked to the companies’ own management. Indeed, the source in question stresses that it is the airlines which are responsible for the affairs of travelers and recalls that although Paris airport makes available the industrial tool for sorting luggage, no employee is directly responsible for luggage.
10,000 bags transported by Air France
Still, for many travellers, the problem, which dates back 7 days, is not resolved. Since Tuesday evening July 7, 10,000 pieces of luggage have certainly been returned to their owners. But there are still several thousand pending. “ Travelers need to be reassured, no luggage is lost but simply delayed “, reassures the spokesperson for Air France.
“ We have reinforced our teams, we have a hundred people who work day and night and are mobilized to transport the luggage“, he details. And he assures that in case of unforeseen expenses: “” The costs of basic necessities will be reimbursed on request to customer service “, he concludes.
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