KEY POINTS

  • The KLM flight made a delayed arrival at the Manchester airport from Amsterdam
  • Two passengers punched each other amid chaos over missing luggage
  • All flyers are yet to receive their bags

Passengers returning from Amsterdam on a KLM flight experienced panic after a huge scuffle broke out over missing luggage at the Manchester Airport on Sunday.

The incident took place when the plane made a delayed landing at 11:45 p.m. at the airport, instead of the scheduled arrival at 10:20 p.m. local time Saturday. The delayed arrival left passengers furious, as a video showing two men throwing punches at each other near the baggage carousel surfaced, a report said.

The air was already tense before the clash broke out as passengers were told that their luggage was still stuck in Amsterdam due to a ground staff strike. The lack of a definitive answer escalated the situation further. Passengers were handed a letter telling them that airport staff cannot provide an estimated time frame within which their luggage would arrive at the airport due to "unforeseen operational challenges."

Onlookers captured the melee that ensued after chaos erupted between passengers at the airport. As videos went viral on social media, users called out Manchester Airport staff and KLM airlines for failing to address passenger woes and letting the situation slip out of control.

"S**t show at @manairport last night. Shocking communication from the @KLM no respect for their customers or their poor staff member who they left to deal with 200 passengers and to receive verbal and physical assault. No security. No police. JOKERS!!" a tweet said.

"Now back home, and thanks but no thanks KLM, no cases and Manchester Airport staff not very helpful, but then there was a fight between 2 passengers. Fun times, anything else happened whilst we were away?" another tweet said.

According to a passenger who captured the video, people turned on the staffer and accused him of lying. "Mess at @manairport last night. No luggage put on flight from Amsterdam. Fight broke out," a tweet read in part.

"@KLM only sent one guy to hand out baggage reclaim letters when it was obvious people would be angry. He was verbally and physically assaulted. JOKE! Why didn't they tell us at Amsterdam???" the tweet continued.

Another passenger pointed out that the letters were misprinted. "And the reclaim letters were wrong. It was not baggagaesolutions, it was globalbaggagesolutions," he wrote in his tweet.

Later, the passenger provided an update on his missing baggage. "I obtained info direct from KLM, now on, status check, 1 case of 2 now enroute," he added.

Passengers queue for security screening in the departures area of Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain April 4, 2022.
Passengers queue for security screening in the departures area of Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain April 4, 2022. Reuters / PHIL NOBLE