Staff shortage led to baggage delays at airport

The ground handling at Jersey Airport is handled by Swissport

The Ports of Jersey (POJ) says it is "sincerely sorry" after a shortage of staff at the airport led to significant delays over the weekend.

Swissport, the company contracted to provide ground handling, has apologised for the inconvenience and said it was working with the POJ to address the issues.

Passengers reported delays lasting several hours on Saturday relating to reclaiming baggage.

Airport director Robin MacRae said POJ was "sincerely sorry for the impact of Swissport’s staffing shortage on airline passengers".

He said: "Firefighters, engineers and customer services employees supported the operation as far as possible, but they are not trained or licensed for many of the airside tasks undertaken by Swissport."

He added that "high-level meetings" between POJ, Swissport and airlines were continuing in an effort to "ensure such delays do not happen again.”

Airport operational managers and Swissport are meeting twice a day to identify where extra support is needed from POJ employees.

Firefighters are insured to drive baggage vehicles and are helping where possible.

Swissport is contracted by the airlines to provide ground handling at Jersey Airport.