Originally Posted by
straightrecord
6. The ground staff were ill equipped for the situation. We were brought into the terminal and had to explain why we didn’t have our passports …. We all sat on an empty baggage carousel for three hours … The liaison lady came in from home and just kept saying that they were securing the plane so we could get our bags … We were brought boxes of water when we complained that we were hot and thirsty and dehydrated.
These mishandlings of survivors have happened before and are completely unacceptable. One of the key things of the extensive Due Diligence that carriers like BA should be carrying out with handling agents at the spokes is going through, in fine detail, exactly what procedures they, and the airport operator, have for instant response in such events. Refreshments, immediate repatriation of baggage and personal possessions, etc. This includes how staff are trained and how often the exercises are practiced with the staff. BA will doubtless have a detailed template for such aspects, but an agent handling multiple carriers is better having a single set of procedures for any airline, as long as they incorporate all that BA have and beyond. It's not rocket science.
Immigration officials displaying a complete "know nothing" of those coming in from a major aircraft evacuation on their own airfield is somewhat beyond belief, but that one has happened before as well.
I just hope that the Alex Cruz version of BA Due Diligence for handling agent selection covers all of this, and has not been reduced to a one liner "who is the cheapest".