Qantas luggage trial grounds passengers

QANTAS passengers missed flights and were forced to queue for up to two hours as the airline trialled a new baggage check-in system.

Scores of irate passengers at Sydney Airport were greeted with extended delays as the airline introduced the new system during the morning rush hour traffic.

International and domestic flights experienced delays of up to 90 minutes as passengers were told over a loudspeaker that the baggage belt was overloaded and “the boys are trying to clear it”.

They were later told two midday flights to Perth and Melbourne had been delayed by half an hour.

While Qantas staff at the terminal tried to pluck passengers who were booked on early flights, several passengers missed their flights and were forced to wait for the next available.

Qantas confirmed a new system was in place this morning but denied it was responsible for the airport chaos.

“We are implementing a new ticketing and boarding system over the weekend, so we have had some minor delays because of that,” a Qantas spokesman told Fairfax.

“It went in over the weekend. Some staff have come in and it’s the first time they have used it, but we have got extra staff on.”