Baggage Handlers Prepare For Olympian Task
Staff at London Heathrow Airport are staging practice runs at Terminal 5 to avoid baggage chaos when passenger traffic hits its peak during the Summer Olympics.
It involved handling more than 2,400 items of luggage at record speed. Passenger groups have already predicted there will be travel hell when thousands of athletes and officials fly in for the Games at the end of July.
More than 80,000 extra airport visitors are expected.
The British Airports Authority expects a 45 percent increase on July 26 alone - the day before the opening ceremony for the London Games. The busiest travel date for athletes is expected to be July 16.
With three times more baggage than normal likely and a 60 percent increase in oversize and supersize bags, it is expected to provide handlers at Heathrow with an Olympic challenge of their own. The huge influx of tourists is also expected to cause severe disruption to transport around the capital, causing misery for thousands of commuters.
Tens of thousands of civil servants have been ordered to work from home during the two-week event to reduce pressure on the rail and road network.
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