Air Canada coming under criticism over video showing baggage being dropped
Posted April 19, 2014 4:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Air Canada is apologizing after a video apparently showing a baggage handler dropping luggage from roughly six metres off the ground hit social media.
The video, taken by a passenger on board a plane and posted Thursday to YouTube, captures a worker dropping bags from a boarding gate to a luggage bin below.
Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah says in an email the “totally unacceptable” incident took place at Toronto’s Pearson Airport that day.
She says the actions “clearly contravened” the airline’s baggage-handling rules.
Mah says the airline is trying to identify the baggage handler and the person –quote — “will be terminated pending the outcome of our investigation.”
Mah added that company procedures call for gate-checked luggage to be carried to planes by hand.
The video has stirred up a wide range of comments both on YouTube and Twitter, with some people lambasting Air Canada and saying they won’t fly on the airline again.
“And people wonder why no one likes Air Canada,” one remarked on the video-sharing site.
“#AirCanada – Where we see your luggage take flight,” said a Twitter user.
“So this is why my shampoo always ends up all over my clothing,” tweeted another.
Others were more charitable saying the airline should not be judged by the actions of one baggage handler.
“It is the employer’s fault for making humans work like an animal to handle heavy bags,” one YouTuber commented.
Read Air Canada’s full statement posted on Facebook below:
In light of a recent video posted to YouTube, we would like to apologize for the totally unacceptable mishandling of our passengers’ baggage captured on video. We are in the process of identifying the employees involved whose employment will be terminated pending the outcome of our investigation. Their actions clearly contravened our standard baggage handling procedures which require gate-checked bags to be hand carried to the ramp.
We take matters involving the protection of our customers’ personal possessions very seriously. The actions of these individuals are not representative of the vast majority of our employees who work hard every day to take care of our customers.
