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Thunder, lightning delay baggage clearance at BIA
View(s):Passengers arriving in late night flights at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Friday had to wait for up to three hours for their baggage to reach them.
It was all because baggage handling teams refused to unload claiming it was raining heavily and there was thunder. Baggage handling at BIA is carried out by Sri Lankan Airlines.
Particularly for passengers who arrived from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, the waiting time was almost three and half hours, the same as the time taken for the flight. SriLankan Media Relations Director Deepal Perera confirmed that eight flights were affected by the delay which was caused by severe thunder showers and lightning on Friday night.
“The lightning alarm went off twice, once from midnight to 12.55 a.m. and again from around 1.15 a.m. to 2.20 a.m. During this period all activity on the ramp and the apron has to be stopped,” he said. Mr. Perera said that during the heavy rains on Thursday, two employees working on the ramp had been affected by lightning.
However, regular passengers complained that they had never before experienced a similar situation.
They said it was time measures were taken to ensure that such delays, which impact badly on the country, did not recur.