Holiday spirits were marred for numerous people in the UK’s Manchester this week, as a severe shortage of ground staff at the airport delayed several flights and even led to some cancellations. Chaos unfurled at Manchester Airport after the TUI Group, which provides ground services such as baggage handling, witnessed a shortage in staff, resulting in passengers being stranded and baggage piling up.
As customers were left fuming, a video of a pilot stepping in to load the bags has gone viral, earning plaudits on social media.
The video was shot on Monday by Jenny Cook, a passenger on a flight to Crete from Manchester, which was delayed over 30 hours. Cook told The Independent the flight was initially delayed by 24 hours. But even after passengers boarded the flight a day later, they were made to wait longer for their bags to be loaded into the aircraft.
While waiting, passengers were assured by the pilot that they were doing everything they could to get the flight out. “(The pilot) said, ‘my copilot Simon is even loading bags’ – so we looked out the window and there he was… Thirty-two hours delayed and it could have been much longer if it weren’t for Simon.”
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PremiumCook narrated how Simon, was cheered by grateful passengers for stepping in. “He is out on the tarmac in the rain helping to load the bags to try and get us on our way after 30 hours delay so far,” she said while sharing the post. She also tweeted to the TUI Group, asking if they could get Simon an ‘excellence’ award.
A video shared on social media showed the pilot, wearing a high-visibility jacket, loading suitcases onto the conveyor belt attached to the aircraft. “This guy’s a legend,” a person is heard saying in the video.
Responding to the incident, the Manchester Airport in a statement said Tui and Swissport, which provide ground services such as baggage handling, “are experiencing temporary staff shortages, in common with other aviation and travel companies”.
ℹ️ A message for customers travelling through Manchester Airport today. pic.twitter.com/83nE6ZQWXi
— Manchester Airport (@manairport) May 31, 2022
According to BBC News, a TUI spokeswoman said the travel and aviation company was aware of videos “showing one of our amazing Tui pilots supporting our operation” by loading bags on to one of our aircraft.
“Whilst not something our pilots would normally do, this video is one example of the incredible dedication of Tui colleagues who are doing everything they can to get customers away on their holidays,” the report quoted. “We can’t thank him enough for his swift and decisive actions.”
