SWISS flight to Bilbao leaves all passenger luggage behind in Zurich

Many of us are probably familiar with the hassle and frustration of landing in an airport only to discover that our luggage got lost somewhere along the way. But would it make you feel better or worse if all of your fellow passengers were in exactly the same situation? That was the case this weekend when a SWISS flight took off from Zurich without any luggage onboard. 

SWISS crew decides to leave luggage behind in Zurich

According to a report in Blick, all 111 passengers on a flight from Zurich to Spain were left scratching their heads at baggage reclaim on Saturday evening, after their flight arrived in Bilbao without a single suitcase in its hold. 

A spokesperson for Switzerland’s flag carrier airline confirmed that the plane - which had been operated by SWISS on behalf of Edelweiss airlines - had taken off from Zurich with 111 passengers on board, but not a single piece of luggage. 

The airline blamed a “shortage of ground staff” for the situation, explaining that the crew had waited for the situation to be resolved, but after one hour and 16 minutes decided to “fly to Bilbao without the baggage” for operational reasons - they needed to pick up passengers in Bilbao and bring them back to Zurich before the airport closed for the night. “We understand the situation is not favourable for the people involved, and of course we regret the inconvenience.” 

Passengers waited for nearly two hours at baggage reclaim

According to Blick, however, some passengers were especially displeased because they said the pilot explained that their flight was delayed due to staff shortages, but never mentioned the decision to leave luggage behind. When the flight arrived in Bilbao, passengers waited for nearly two hours at baggage reclaim before being told that their suitcases weren’t coming. 

The SWISS spokesperson said he could not confirm whether passengers had been informed about the decision to leave luggage behind in Zurich. “We are still analysing the situation to find out what happened exactly and how we can improve,” he is reported by The Local as saying. “This shouldn’t happen.”