A BAGGAGE handler is reported to have caused up to £1 million of damage when he crashed his loading truck into the side of an aircraft at Edinburgh airport.
He slammed into the brand new £40 million Boeing 737, run by Flyglobespan, as the crew were preparing to take off for Alicante.
He ripped a 5ft gash in its side, leaving the aircraft grounded for at least three weeks.
Airline staff had to scra
mble to arrange alternative seats for passengers after the crash on Sunday afternoon. They were held up for an hour and 40 minutes.
Flyglobespan chief executive Rick Green said: "We are extremely aggrieved with the baggage handling company. It appears that the handler was driven too close to the aircraft. The rule is you have to be at least three metres away, so one can only assume he's tried to take a shortcut."
He said a full investigation is underway to assess the extent of the damage. It is too early to put an exact figure on the cost of damage, but it could be up to £1 million.
Flyglobespan are talking to the baggage company involved, Alba Ground Handling, to find out what went wrong. It is understood the handler has been sacked.
Aviation expert Jim Ferguson said: "Such incidents reportedly cost airlines around £500m annually."
The full article contains 230 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
