Manchester Airport to crack down on 'rough' baggage handling

Manchester Airport has said it will crack down on baggage handlers after footage emerged of the rough treatment of luggage.

A Swissport employee was seen throwing suitcases which missed the luggage trolley and fell on to the ground.

The airport said the behaviour was "completely unacceptable", and it had asked Swissport to investigate and take "swift and robust action".

Swissport said it was "disappointed" by the film, and apologised.

The footage was captured by a passenger who said her case had been damaged.

'Serious' actions

Manchester Airport chief executive Andrew Cowan said the behaviour was "well below" what the airport would expect of ground handling agents.

"In our view, the actions of the individuals concerned are so serious that we would expect Swissport ensure they do not work on the airport site in the future," he said.

He said if the airport was not satisfied by Swissport's response it would consider further steps to "protect passengers' interests", including the "full range of sanctions that are available to us as part of Swissport's operating licence".

Swissport serves more than 300 airports worldwide and says it provides airport ground services for about 265 million passengers a year.

It described it as "isolated incident" and that it had taken "immediate action".

"We cannot comment on specifics while the investigation is ongoing, however Swissport is taking this matter very seriously," it said.

Social media users have shared their thoughts on the video.

On Facebook, Margaret G Simpson said the footage was "shocking" and Mike Begley said: "Probably happens everyday at every airport just this time it got filmed".

Twitter user Alan Royston said he had spent a short spell as a baggage handler and had seen some "appalling practices".