The information comes from a “concerned whistleblower”.
Several cases of missing luggage belonging to air passengers have been dumped in a bin at Dublin Airport, according to reports.
UTV obtained photographs from a “concerned whistleblower” a few days ago, showing suitcases left in a bin for disposal outside a warehouse at the airport packed with lost baggage.
In a statement issued to JOE, one of the baggage agencies at the airport, Sky Handling Partner (SHP), explained that the luggage was thrown away for “health and safety” reasons.
“We can confirm that a small number of bags were being disposed of because they posed a health and safety risk to staff and a risk of contamination for other bags in their vicinity,” it said.
“The bags in question contained foodstuffs and other perishable items against notified custom regulations. These items were clearly going off and were at risk of attracting vermin.
“The bags in question had been set aside by airport customs (not ourselves) and were transported in error to our facility where we had to deal with them accordingly.
“As is normal in such situations, the relevant baggage files were updated and the passengers directly contacted to advise of the disposal of their luggage and the reasons why and to enable them to proceed with a claim per normal procedure.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the daa (Dublin Airport Authority) told JOE that it has no role in baggage handling at Dublin Airport.
The UTV report comes amid a difficult time for aviation following the easing of Covid restrictions, also marked by flight cancellations and long security queues.
The Oireachtas Transport Committee heard earlier in the week that there are nearly 4,200 lost bags at Dublin Airport.
“The rapid rebound in international travel has presented significant challenges for aviation globally. Dublin has been no exception in this regard,” Managing Director Darren Moloney at SHP told the committee.
“Our service standards have simply not returned to the pre-pandemic level.”
Moloney also said SHP sincerely apologised for where this has resulted in “disruption and inconvenience for passengers”.
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