Air Canada baggage bungled

(Update)

Two Air Canada employees caught on video tossing luggage from an airline gate into a luggage bin on the ground — will likely be fired. A passenger on board the plane posted the video on YouTube, and it’s been viewed one point two million times. It’s also caused the man who posted the video to feel a some regret in pointing the finger at the luggage handlers.

Dwayne Stewart from B.C. is the one who caught the luggage tossing on his smart phone. He says he was quick to blame the men for being careless with passengers possessions until he learned how ill equipped luggage handlers can be when dealing with last minute check-ins.

Dwayne Stewart says the Air Canada plane he was on was full so the airline asked passengers, who had already boarded, to give up their carry on bags. When Dwayne and his friend Darren looked out the window they were shocked to see carry on bags being tossed from about six meters above the luggage bin: “Ohh ohhh, good thing my computers in there.”

The video was posted on social media before the plane even left Pearson International Airport for B.C. last Thursday. So far, it’s attracted more than a million viewers.

Air Canada declined an on camera interview but emailed us to say they’re sorry for what happened, the way the baggage was handled is unacceptable and the employees will likely be fired.

Passengers boarding Air Canada flights Monday had mixed reactions.

“Ya, I think they should be fired because they could be breaking someone’s possessions.”

“I don’t know if they should get suspended or take a look at their work history. I don’t necessarily think they should be fired.”

After having a few days to think about it, Dwayne Stewart doesn’t want them to be fired either. He thinks Air Canada luggage handlers should be better equipped to deal with last minute carry on check ins at the gate: “There should be a slide or a ramp, elevator, a conveyer or something that’s appropriate to put those bags from point a to point b. I understand that stairs can be dangerous and I would not ask them to endanger themselves carrying so many bags up and down the long flight of stairs, so it’s definitely a lot going on then meets the eye.”

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agrees that it was too dangerous for the Air Canada employees to safely run down the steep stairs while carrying luggage.

We spoke with tripcentral.ca here in Hamilton about how passengers can protect their luggage. They said this is a good example of why it’s important to buy insurance before travelling that includes baggage protection. Trip Central also thinks that there’s a lesson to be learned. With smartphones everywhere, employees in a protected environment can expect eyes are always watching how they do their job.