Airport staff 'get bonuses for catching easyJet passengers with oversized bags'
Airport staff are pocketing bonuses for catching out easyJet passengers with oversized bags, according to a leaked email. A revealing email was sent to employees of Swissport, which runs passenger airport gates across Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, Jersey, Liverpool, and Newcastle.
It revealed staff would take home £1.20 (£1 after tax) for every "gate bag" found too large to bring onboard. The controversial scheme aims to "reward agents doing the right thing", according to an internal message signed by Dean Martin, a Swisspoer station manager at Glasgow Airport.
The leaked email, which was seen by The Sunday Times, is 'the easyJet gate bag revenue incentive' which would result in 'payments made directly to employees'. The email was sent in November 2023, and the policy reportedly remains active.
Staff were assured that if they didn't meet targets, 'internal tracking will be used to identify opportunities for further support and training for individual agents, but will not be used negatively.'
The email, signed off by Dean Martin, ended with 'Thank you for your ongoing contribution to the success of easyJet.' The email was sent in November 2023, and the policy is still active.
EasyJet, which made £9 billion in revenue, allows passengers to take one small bag on a flight. However, larger bags are extra, with fees ranging from £5.99 to £33. At the airport gate, if an unpaid oversized bag is found, passengers face a £48 charge - with £1.20 going directly to airport employees.
Ground staff are employed by third-party handling companies, which differ across airports. EasyJet is not responsible for how the bonuses are issued.
An easyJet spokeswoman said: "easyJet is focused on ensuring our ground handling partners apply our policies correctly and consistently in fairness to all our customers.
"Our bag policies and options are well understood and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel and on their boarding pass which means a very small proportion of customers who don't comply will be charged at the airport."
Swissport operates passenger services at 17 airports across the country. However, it is not the only company that offers a similar bonus for catching oversized baggage. DHL Supply Chain, which operates with EasyJet across Manchester, Gatwick and Bristol, also offers incentives.
Swissport said the company follows airline policies under agreed terms. A spokesperson said: 'We serve our airline customers and apply their policies under terms and conditions for managing their operation. We're highly professional and our focus is on delivering safe and efficient operations, which we do day in and day out for four million flights per year.'
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