Complaints about flight delays and missing bags continued Saturday on social media, but the baggage headaches at New Orleans' new airport terminal might be about over, according to airport officials.
After the system for handling outgoing bags experienced a final hiccup following a rush of travelers Saturday morning, a Louis Armstrong International Airport spokesperson said all conveyor belts were operating as they should.
However, flight delays caused in large part by baggage handling problems continued to be an issue.
FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, reported 51 delayed flights at Armstrong International by 3 p.m. Saturday, with more than half of those flights originating in New Orleans. By the end of the day Friday, 70 flights were delayed.
Southwest Airlines has borne the brunt of the delayed flights — 40 delays on Friday and 24 on Saturday. A spokesman for the airline said its customers experienced minor delays Saturday morning mostly because of baggage issues and a cancellation due to weather conditions in Denver.
"We're working with the airport on performance issues with the new airport's checked baggage handling system, which is affecting all carriers," the spokesman said.
Customers continued to share their frustrations about lost luggage and flight delays on social media.
"I literally just signed up for Twitter so I could bring attention to the fact that you all lost FOUR of our luggage after a trip from New Orleans to Nashville," Andrei Javier tweeted directly to Southwest, Armstrong International and Nashville International Airport. "No updates. Please help!"
Others tweeted about waiting at least 24 hours for their luggage to catch up with them.
Complaints from flyers this week began surfacing on social media on Christmas Eve.
This was the second time the new terminal's outgoing baggage handling system, which has three miles of conveyor belts, has malfunctioned over multiple days. The first time was Nov. 7, the day after the airport opened. That problem took several days to fix.
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