A mountain of suitcases and other luggage are seen piled up at Heathrow Airport. Courtsey: Twitter

A ‘glitch’ in Heathrow Airport’s baggage system has meant hundreds of travellers have been left with luggage piled up - and they may not receive it for two days.

The mountain of suitcases left behind is going viral on social media.

“Earlier today there was a technical issue with the Terminal 2 baggage system which has now been resolved,” a spokesperson for the airport said.

“Passengers are now able to check-in as normal, but a number of passengers who departed from Terminal 2 earlier today may have travelled without their luggage.”

On Friday London's Gatwick airport said it would reduce summer flights, blaming staff shortages that have sparked travel chaos as demand rebounds following the lifting of pandemic lockdowns.

The hub, majority-owned by France's Vinci airports, will run a maximum 825 daily flights in July and 850 per day in August, down from pre-pandemic daily totals of about 900 for the summer months.

"Gatwick is temporarily moderating its rate of growth for July and August" to offer passengers "a more reliable and better standard of service", it said in a statement.
Gatwick said the reduction was owing to limited resources.

The sector, which culled jobs with planes grounded during the pandemic, is struggling to recruit enough staff now that the skies have reopened.

The Independent / AFP