Luggage woe left Birmingham Airport passengers feeling ‘locked’ on plane

Passengers on a flight from Birmingham Airport felt like they were “locked” on board after being told their luggage would not be travelling with them, according to one holidaymaker.

Alex Griffiths, who flew to Rhodes with his family on Friday, said passengers were only informed their suitcases were being left behind after the aircraft doors had been closed, preventing anyone from leaving the plane.

On learning they would arrive without their belongings, several passengers tried to leave but were told they could not, he said, describing his own situation as a “nightmare” due to missing necessities and enforced expenses.

Griffiths’ account follows a weekend of holidaymakers sharing frustration about absent suitcases after a problem with the airport’s baggage system affected outbound luggage.

The airport last updated affected passengers on Sunday morning, saying then the “vast majority” of baggage was now travelling with passengers as planned, and it was working to reunite others with their bags.

In the meantime, people continue to share their experiences after problems emerged on Friday,

Griffiths, from Halesowen in Dudley, said: “There was a bloke on the plane who’d got cancer medication in his suitcase, and he wanted to get off for that, but they’d already shut the door.”

The father-of-two said on Monday “that guy still has not been reunited with his cancer medication, and he’s looking very poorly”.

Of Jet2, the travel company with which he had booked, Griffiths claimed: “[They’ve] put the comfort and possibly health of everybody on the plane at risk just because they needed to get the plane in the air.

“It’s appalling, what else can you say?”

Jet2 has been approached by the BBC for comment.