Luggage piles join long airport lines in fresh woes for summer travel

Piles of luggage beside baggage belts in airports from Canada to Europe are driving further demand for ground handlers, and adding to summer travel chaos as airlines scramble to bring back workers lost during COVID-19. Once a cost-cutting and outsourcing target for aviation, ground handlers are now being offered raises, as frazzled passengers take to social media to complain about missing baggage. The hiring can't come fast enough as a rebound in travel and badly-needed airline revenue this summer is being weighed by congestion, rising costs and labor strife, after a two-year pandemic vacuum. Air Canada (AC.TO) said late on Wednesday it would cut flights in July and August to reduce passenger flows to a level that the air transport system can accommodate. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents ground handlers, including baggage and cargo handlers, for Air Canada among other carriers, said some Canadian workers are being offered raises and double pay to work beyond eight-hour shifts, a union official said. "It's created a bit of a bidding war," said Dave Flowers, an IAMAW national president in Canada specializing in air transportation. Flowers said there is no one explanation for the lost baggage, which is rather the result of staff shortages and flight delays that have created a "spiral effect," resulting in cases of passengers waiting up to seven days to get their bags back. It's not clear when such problems would be resolved.<br/>