Furious Qantas passengers say they were left without their bags for up to six days after the airline flew them from Darwin to London without checked baggage, due to weight restrictions caused by a crumbling patch of runway at Darwin airport. The Guardian understands Qantas only became aware of the urgent runway repairs and weight restrictions at Darwin shortly before the scheduled flights early last week. The airline was forced to offload baggage so that its heavier long-haul aircraft did not require the entire runway, allowing it to avoid the patch of pavement that was deteriorating due to heavy rain. Passengers flying into London on Monday 25 April on QF9 said they were informed about 20 minutes before landing at Heathrow that all economy checked bags had been left behind in Darwin. Marnie Greenrod was one of more than 60 passengers on the flight who waited more than five days to be reunited with their luggage. She said that the inflight announcement told affected passengers a Qantas representative would provide information about what to do when they landed at 5am UK time. They were instead met by Heathrow ground staff who provided them with forms to track their luggage, and said they would receive an email with an individual code. “We were told they would not be processed until it was certain our bags had not made it, so we stood and watched the carousel for at least 45 minutes,” Greenrod said. Greenrod, who lives in London, said passengers were assured their bags would follow in 24-48 hours, but she did not receive hers until six days later, received no communication from Qantas and was unable to track the progress of her luggage. It’s understood that flights from Darwin to London were subject to weight restrictions for several days, meaning the bags from previous flights could not be loaded.<br/>