Baggage delays for United Airlines passengers

From early December to the first week of January, United Airlines passengers have struggled to reclaim their baggage following flights into Denver, with delays of delivery lasting several hours to several days. The root of the problem is thought to lie with the ground handling staff for United’s regional Express flights. In their efforts to rectify the problem and ensure the right luggage is on the right aircraft, several United flights have consequently been delayed in addition to the delays surrounding baggage.

In September 2014, United terminated its contract with its previous ground handling contractor, SkyWest Airlines, and signed up with Simplicity Ground Services in the hope of improving operations. It is clear that the airline and Simplicity Ground Services – who blame the issues on the influx of fliers during the festive season – have some kinks to iron out before it can expect operations to run smoothly.

Sodexi opens freight warehouse at Paris CDG airport

A new 7,600 square metre express freight warehouse has been opened at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport by airport operator Aeroports de Paris and the Sodexi, which handles freight for airlines including Air France-KLM and Estonian Air, amongst others. The warehouse, which will be used to process air freight and mail, cost €22m to construct and was completed in autumn 2014. It is estimated that the facility, located adjacent to the passenger terminals, will be able to process up to 55,000 tonnes of freight per year from more than 160,000 commercial flights. Jerome Balbi, managing director of Sodexi, praised the performance of the facility and expressed high hopes for its rôle in transporting international freight in a timely manner.

“A parcel collected at the end of the previous afternoon in Hong Kong will arrive in Paris in the morning, and can be connected straight away to a flight to southern Europe or Scandinavia, for example, with delivery in the early afternoon,” he said.

Southwest Airline’s largest cargo operation

Despite being only the tenth largest airport in terms of departures, Los Angeles holds the impressive title of largest cargo station for Southwest Airlines. The cargo handled here, which includes anything from live tropical fish to organs for transplants, exceeds 30m pounds a year, or 80,000 pounds a day. This grand number is somewhat overshadowed, however, by Southwest’s figures for 2013, which state an enormous 3.5bn pounds of cargo was handled at the station over the course of that particular year.

Gun-trafficking suspect waives preliminary hearing

Eugene Harvey, a Delta Air Lines baggage handler in Atlanta, was arrested just before Christmas on charges of smuggling firearms on to passenger aircraft to New York City at Hartsfield-Jackson International airport. On January 6 he waived his preliminary hearing in the federal court and was freed on an unsecured US$25,000 bond. According to his lawyer, he has denied any wrongdoing despite an FBI statement that there was enough evidence to charge Harvey with trafficking firearms, violating airport security and assisting others in the scheme.