TWO baggage bosses at Stansted Airport have shared why they love their roles and some essential advice for anyone checking-in a bag.
Workers can get through around 20,000 pieces of baggage a day, the Gazette learned from spending a day with the team.
Kevin Hall, of Halstead, has been the Lead System Baggage Operator for five years so far.
He started working in the airport back in 1998 as a baggage handler.
Mr Hall said: “What do I love about my role? I get to meet so many different people, not just the operators, management, stakeholders, there’s people from different companies from abroad.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to other countries to learn about baggage systems as well, and I wouldn’t have had that opportunity in previous roles.
“You can have the quietest day in terms of faults and things we have to do, but a bag can get caught and your world is turned upside down suddenly.
“But we have a great operational team, and we work alongside the engineers who are experts in what they do. We all come together.
“When it does hit the fan, you have that opportunity to work as a team altogether to have a positive outcome as well. There’s massive satisfaction.”
X-ray machines flag up bags which need to be more closely inspected by a member of staff. The system can flag “anything from cans of paint to Christmas crackers”.
Even toy guns or water pistols will flag up and need to be inspected by a police officer on site and removed if necessary.
If a bag misses a flight, which is a rare occurrence given the volume of bags handled each day, the team in the arrivals hall will aim to get it on the next flight once paperwork is complete.
Sanel Azmi, 43, of Harlow, originally started as a baggage delivery manager in 2023, and was promoted to baggage operations manager in June.
She said: “I wasn’t aware of how much work went into the baggage flow, I just thought you would put your bag through check-in and it magically appears on the plane.
“Coming into here, there is so much work which goes into the operation, considering how many staff actually run it through the baggage system.
“You’ve got the engineers which plan maintenance, it’s not just simply checking your bag, popping your tag on, there is a lot of work which goes into it.”
Mrs Azmi has also shared some advice on how to get your checked luggage ready.
She said: "Passengers can wrap their bags if they wish, but any clingfilm, straps or loose items should be properly secured as unsecured items can interfere with baggage equipment and cause delays.
“If any bags have any liquids and it causes a spillage on the track, that can cause us needing a contingency, it’s just about bag hygiene.
“Don’t forget to put your label on, if you don’t put it on, it causes some disruptions because they need to identify the bag, potentially bring it to the passenger and to check it is theirs.
“Just be mindful of what you pack in your bag, don’t overpack it, if you have a small bag, it could overspill.”
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