UK NEWS
OUR PAPER FEELS FULL FORCE OF BA INADEQUACY
Our photographer was separated from his luggage
By Myra Philp
NOBODY knows better than photographer Ross Turpie what the BA baggage handling inefficiencies can mean.
Over a week ago, on assignment for the Scottish Daily Express, Ross, 34, was parted from £10,000 worth of kit - and his livelihood.
Ironically the photographer's wife, works for BA and he knows first-hand about the problems caused by redundancies amongst the airline's Scottish staff.
He was travelling from Glasgow to Basel, Switzerland on Sunday, July 1, leaving hours before the Glasgow terror attack, with a stopover in Heathrow to cover Celtic FC's pre-season training, when Aviance lost his equipment - and all his clothes.
The five colleagues he was travelling with including Express sports writer Gary Keown, and staff from other national newspapers all arrived two hours late in Switzerland minus their luggage.
Ross said: "We had checked our luggage straight through in Glasgow so we didn't have to collect it then carry it between terminals at Heathrow. We wouldn't have had time.
"When we arrived in Basel at 1am we were the only people left in the airport. It took Two-and-a-half hours for three photographers and three journalists to fill in missing luggage forms. There was no security, just us, one cleaner and the guy who was handling the forms. We could have gone anywhere."
The bedraggled party then faced a 70km drive knowing they had nothing, except the clothes they were wearing.
"We looked like refugees when we turned up at the Celtic press conference in the morning.
"We eventually managed to buy T shirts and toiletries but worst of all, we had to rely on another newspaper to send pictures back to Scotland for us."
It wasn't until Thursday that Ross was reunited with just one of his bags - after the game.
"I still didn't have any camera bodies so I still couldn't do my job."
He is now making daily trips to Glasgow Airport in the hope his luggage will arrive.
But he knows his bags will have to first be found, then be sent from Heathrow to the hotel he was staying in at Basel before being sent back to Glasgow.
"It's ludicrous, he said, "there is a mountain of 20,000 lost bags at Heathrow and I've been told they have now all been sent to a clearing centre in Milan.Everybody gets £35 compensation a day.This must be costing millions.
"I have no idea where my photographic equipment is, not even which country it is in."
He is also concerned by the lack of security at the lost baggage hall in Glasgow Airport where "anybody can just walk in."
After three weeks the bags can be declared officially lost and insurance can be claimed, but it's not clear how much will be covered.
Ross added: "It's bad enough for people who have had their holidays ruined by this. But I have lost my livelihood.
"Aviance is understaffed and simply cannot cope with the added security and BA staff morale is at an all-time low. It's no wonder luggage is just dumped on the 'lost mountain'."
Sports writer Gary Keown added: "The British Airways rep at Basel Airport provided us with a telephone number and a website address, both of which could be used to trace our lost luggage.
"It proved impossible to get a satisfactory response from the call centre and, more than one week later, the website suggests I try again some other time as they haven't the foggiest idea where my bag is.
"To make matters worse, e-mails sent by colleagues to their customer relations department have been left unanswered.
"It was the first time I have flown with BA for years and I am now viewing a September trip to Italy with great apprehension. I am sorry I booked with them."
Video 
GETTING MY BAGGAGE RETURNED
17.07.07, 1:25pm
Atfer reading an artical in the TIMES my wife and I join a new service called Baggage Pin.
At worst if our luggage ever gets lost whoever finds it can contact us.
• Posted by: Dereck • Report Comment
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