27 January 2006, www.stuff.co.nz

Glitches in a new $28m baggage handling system at Auckland International Airport are delaying flights and prompting airlines to start talking about compensation.

The system screens baggage in accordance with new international flight regulations but airlines say some bags are getting lost, some are being left behind because they are not being processed in time, and some flights are being delayed.

Airlines say since the system was installed last year at least 60 incidents of baggage delays had been reported.

The industry said three airlines were considering demanding compensation after passengers complained about their lost or delayed luggage.

Some of the passengers had to stay in hotels while their baggage was found or caught up with them, or when they missed connecting flights because of the delays.

Auckland International Airport Limited chief executive Don Huse said the system had glitches but was working well.

"In the course of any given day you will have some tens of thousands of bags being processed so the system is working very well," he told National Radio.

"There have been some glitches. They have been rectified with the help of everybody involved and the system is operating to the level you would expect at this stage of the commissioning process."

He said the airport company met regularly with the airlines, the baggage handlers and the engineers installing the system.