Helsinki-Vantaa Baggage Handlers Deny Deliberate Slowdown

Baggage handlers at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, who were recently outsourced by the airline Finnair, deny allegations of a deliberate slowdown. Shop Steward Pekka Kähönen says that claims that bags would have been deliberately placed on the wrong planes are provocative and without foundation.

The Finnish News Agency reported on Saturday that anonymous airport personnel had said that the baggage handlers are not doing their jobs right.
Shop Steward Pekka Kähönen and Finnish Aviation Union Chairman Juhani Haapasaari reject the claims.
“Not even management has been telling such shocking lies. If someone would be doing that, he would be sacked,” Kähönen told YLE.
He noted that luggage is tagged with a bar code when the passenger checks it in. The code is cecked twice before it is loaded onto the plane.
Kähönen blames the bproblems in handling baggage on insufficient personnel. He said that there are between 10 and 15 percent less staff at a time when there is 25 per cent more baggage than usual.
He also says that more than ten employees have resigned since Finnair’s baggage handling operations were passed on to Barona.
Finnair says that baggage services at Helsinki-Vantaa were slightly backed up on Saturday, but that the situation is good, under the circumstances.