American Airlines baggage handling problems continue at JFK

The morning after the baggage handling system at the JFK American Airlines terminal stopped sorting passenger luggage, the carrier was forced to cancel five scheduled flights and delay the departure of others, reported a spokesperson for the airline on Thursday.

The malfunction that began on Wednesday was referred to as a ‘glitch’ in the software that controls the routing of baggage through the handling system, and resulted in 48 flights being delayed and five others canceled. Many Terminal 8 passengers had to board their flights without their luggage on board, and hope that it followed them to their destination later in the day.

Technicians working on the system continued on through Wednesday evening, said Andrea Huguely, a spokesperson for American Airlines. On Thursday morning she told AP reporters that the baggage handling system was still undergoing testing. The system users a reader to scan bar code on luggage to sort bags and send them to the proper conveyer belts and flights.

The spokesperson was not able to estimate when the baggage handling system would be fully functional or how many more flights and passengers would be affected before it was back in operation.

A statement on the American Airlines website notified customers that airline employees were sorting bags manually, and it was likely that many bags would not travel on the same flight as their owners.

“American will reconcile the delivery of bags and deliver them to their intended destination as quickly as possible,” it was also stated on the airline’s website.

Passengers traveling on American to Kennedy Airport, or from or through the facility were allowed to change their reservations to another airport without additional charge.

www.aa.com