ORLAND, Fla. \u2014 What should have been the end of a trip turned into hours of frustration for hundreds of travelers at Orlando International Airport Wednesday night after a mechanical failure delayed baggage delivery in the new Terminal C.<\/p>\n
Some passengers told Channel 9 they waited several hours to get their luggage, saying they were stuck inside the baggage claim area with little information about when their bags would arrive.<\/p>\n
The incident comes less than a week after another major baggage delay at Terminal C, though airport officials say the two situations were caused by different issues.<\/p>\n
Airport: Mechanical Issue caused Wednesday\u2019s baggage pickup delays<\/p>\n
Videos shared on social media show hundreds of travelers packed into the baggage claim area as they waited for luggage. A traveler posted on TikTok she waited two to three hours for her bags.<\/p>\n
Peter Brizio said he, his wife and their infant spent hours waiting behind the baggage claim area. He said passengers were told they could not leave without collecting their bags.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompletely just a zoo. There were just too many people. Additional flights were landing. No baggage was coming,\u201d Brizio said.<\/p>\n
Brizio said he asked airport staff if he could leave and return later to pick up his luggage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s 30 minutes, an hour, just tell me. I\u2019m a resident, I could come back. And she just said, \u2018No, you can\u2019t leave. You\u2019re abandoning your luggage.\u2019 I said, \u2018I\u2019m not abandoning anything,\u201d Brizio said. Brizio said Customs later allowed him to leave; however, he still has not retrieved his luggage.<\/p>\n
Some travelers said they had no access to food or water while they waited. The airport says they provided bottles of water.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Orlando International Airport said Wednesday night\u2019s delays were caused by a mechanical failure that prevented luggage from moving through the airport\u2019s baggage handling system. The airport said the disruption was \u201cwell below the expectation we set to serve our passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orlando International Airport says the airport\u2019s vendor resolved the mechanical problem.<\/p>\n
Airport: Separate baggage problems over the weekend<\/p>\n
The latest incident follows another baggage delay over the weekend in Terminal C involving passengers arriving on three Virgin Atlantic flights.<\/p>\n
Traveler Carol Wick shared a photo showing hundreds of passengers waiting on the concrete floor inside baggage claim. Wick says it included elderly travelers and families with young children.<\/p>\n
Wick said she tried to file a lost baggage claim but was told her bags were not considered lost. She also said a Virgin Atlantic employee warned passengers they could be arrested if they left before claiming their luggage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me that I absolutely could not leave, and if we leave… they said you\u2019ll be arrested,\u201d Wick said. Channel 9 has reached out to Virgin Atlantic for comment.<\/p>\n
Airport officials said the weekend delays were caused by a combination of weather and staffing levels within Virgin Atlantic\u2019s ground-handling operations.<\/p>\n
Airport officials emphasized that Wednesday night\u2019s delays were solely the result of a mechanical failure, while the weekend incident involved Virgin Atlantic\u2019s baggage handling operations and weather-related issues.<\/p>\n
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