Hundreds of unclaimed suitcases are lying abandoned in baggage claim at Stansted Airport today after the weekend of travel chaos.
The rows and rows of left luggage include baby buggies, rucksacks and plastic bags – with passengers seen wandering around the area trying to find their luggage.
Scores of Ryanair passengers have been left fuming at Stansted airport after the airline cancelled at least five of its flights this morning.
Severe delays and cancellations followed huge thunderstorms across the UK on Friday, putting an abrupt end to the UK’s heatwave.
The Dublin-based budget airline has blamed the knock-on effect from the storm for the cancellations today and the 14 made yesterday.
Abandoned: More than 1,000 unclaimed suitcases in baggage claim at Stansted airport
Rows and rows of unclaimed baggage, including baby buggies, rucksacks and plastic bags
Packed in: Stansted airport’s baggage reclaim area is littered with left luggage
A large handwritten notice in the luggage area reads: ‘For Ryanair cancelled flights. Please collect your baggage from Reclaim 4. Please re-book your flights online or on Ryanair App.’
Meanwhile passengers were pictured queuing up around baggage claim conveyor belts trying to retrieve their cases.
Holidaymakers have complained of lengthy queues in departure halls and a lack of staff, and are hesitant to accept storm effects as the reason for the cancellations.
One passenger posted a photo of a Ryanair refreshment voucher to Twitter, sarcastically thanking the airline for a generous £3.50 to make up for the cancelled flights.
‘That’s ok Ryanair .. the fact that you left us stranded in London Stansted with no flight is totally fine now…’, he captioned the picture.
A note to passengers on cancelled Ryanair flights (left) and a tweet by a disgruntled Ryanair passenger left stranded at Stansted sarcastically thanking the airline for a £3.50 voucher
Passengers struggled to find their cases at Stansted after scores of Ryanair flights were cancelled
Unclaimed: Some of the dozens of suitcases waiting to be claimed by passengers at Stansted
Hundreds of Ryanair passengers have been left fuming at Stansted airport after the airline cancelled at least five of its flights this morning
Jonathan Senior wrote: ‘Congratulations Ryanair on a ridiculous morning at Stansted’
Frustrated passengers took to social media to share images and videos of themselves stuck in the busy departure
Flights across Europe, including to Dublin, Cork, Barcelona, Budapest, and Wroclaw, have been cancelled by Ryanair leaving holiday goers stranded at the London airport.
Frustrated passengers took to social media to share images and videos of themselves stuck in the busy departure.
Jonathan Senior wrote: ‘Congratulations Ryanair on a ridiculous morning at Stansted.
‘A queue the full length of the airport concourse….really? To drop a bag off? Almost 2 hours to get to gate with no explanation? Shambolic at best.’
Another commented: ‘My flight home is cancelled and there are thousands of people here in Stansted [trying to] get sorted and the WiFi barely works.’
Flights across Europe, including to Dublin, Cork, Barcelona, Budapest, and Wroclaw, have been cancelled by Ryanair leaving holiday goers stranded at the London airport
The budget airline previously blamed knock-on effect of the storm after it cancelled 14 flights from Stansted Airport at the start of the summer holidays. But holidaymakers are dubious to believe its reasoning with many claiming a lack of staff as the problem
Sarah wrote: ‘So am stuck in the airplane at Stansted and they can’t let us off the plane [because] nobody wants to work.’
One warned: ‘Guys buy water, get some food. Ryanair is back at it.’
Not only were holidaymakers bemoaning the cancelled flights but also the ‘chaos’ caused by the busy queues – leading some to miss their departures.
Darren Harris tweeted: ‘Well done Stansted and Ryanair. Due to the chaos of check-in and bag drop our flight to Alicante has been missed by minutes.
‘No Ryanair staff about, offices are closed and anyone you speak to can’t help and doesn’t know anything.’
London Stansted Airport was seemingly affected the most yesterday by the abrupt end of the UK’s heatwave
The British National Air Traffic Services (Nats) placed temporary restrictions during the adverse weather on 27 July 2018 leading to flight cancellations and delays across Britain
Not only were holidaymakers bemoaning the cancelled flights but also the ‘chaos’ caused by the busy queues – leading some to miss their departures
At the start of the weekend thunderstorms sparked chaos for British holidaymakers, with cancelled flights leaving thousands of stranded while others endured long delays on the Eurotunnel.
Families heading for summer getaways on the Continent by ferry were told to expect long queues on the roads into the Port of Dover with a minimum two-hour wait to get through border checks.
P&O ferries advised its customers to take plenty of drinks, snacks and entertainment for their wait.
A spokesperson for Stansted said the airport was open and operating as normal.
A Ryanair spokeswoman said: ‘Our UK operation is running well today. There is a very small number of delays and cancellations as a knock-on effect from the extreme weather disruptions (Fri) and the disruptions arising from ATC staff shortages in the UK, France and Germany.’
Hundreds of holiday goers at Ibiza Airport faced long queues as they were held up as they tried to return home
A number of flights were cancelled and delayed with more expected as the day goes on due to the current bad weather
The reportedly chaotic scenes at Stansted still for Ryanair passengers comes as other airports across Europe struggle to cope with the recent storms.
Hundreds of holiday goers at Ibiza Airport faced long queues as they were held up as they tried to return home.
A number of flights were cancelled and delayed with more expected as the day goes on due to the current bad weather.
More heavy rain and 50mph gusts are forecast for the UK, and a yellow weather warning for southern England and Wales is in place until 3pm.