Delta Airlines had to get creative when 1,000 bags needed a flight from London to the United States. The airline was forced to cancel a flight from London-Heathrow on July 11 due to passenger volume restrictions, leaving the bags stranded.
“Delta teams worked a creative solution to move delayed checked bags from London-Heathrow on July 11 after a regularly scheduled flight had to be canceled given airport passenger volume restrictions at Heathrow,” a Delta spokesperson told TravelAwaits. “Delta flight 9888 from Heathrow to Delta’s Detroit hub flew 1,000 bags back to the U.S., where teams then forwarded the bags on to our customers.”
Flying The Bags Home
The bags flew on an Airbus A330-200 in the designated baggage bins as they always do, not in the passenger cabin.
This week, Heathrow Airport asked airlines to cut back on their flights this summer, capping capacity at 100,000 passengers per day. It says this needs to be done to cut back on any further disruptions to flights, baggage issues, and long lines. This is expected to continue until at least September 11.
Customers on the regularly scheduled revenue flight, Delta flight 7 to Detroit on July 11, were rebooked on other flights.
Airlines Trying To Curb Delays
Other airlines are also taking action to curb flight delays. Air Canada announced recently that animals will no longer be able to travel in the hold of the aircraft until September 12.
Both of these instances come as more and more people begin traveling again and the airline industry faces a staff shortage, particularly when it comes to pilots.
