Delta flew a plane from Heathrow to the U.S. just to deliver 1,000 pieces of stranded luggage.

A Delta Air Strains aircraft filled with baggage however no passengers was flown from Heathrow Airport in London to Detroit this week, a Delta spokesman stated on Wednesday. The bags belonged to Delta prospects who had not too long ago traveled by way of Heathrow and had been separated from their baggage due to journey disruptions.

Delta determined to ship the aircraft, an Airbus A330-200, to ship 1,000 items of stranded baggage to Detroit on Monday, and from there the airline transported them to their house owners throughout america “to speed up motion of delayed baggage,” stated Morgan Durrant, the Delta spokesman, who described the transfer as a “artistic answer.”

It has been a chaotic summer season for journey. Staffing shortages, the pandemic and excessive demand from vacationers have led to scores of canceled and delayed flights. A number of the worst issues occurred over the July Fourth weekend, with greater than 1,400 cancellations of flights into, inside or from america from that Friday by way of Sunday, in line with FlightAware.

Issues have been notably chaotic at Heathrow Airport. A baggage system malfunction there final month contributed to much more flight cancellations. And on Tuesday, the airport introduced that due to constrained capability, it will curb the variety of departing passengers till mid-September, calling on airways to restrict ticket gross sales.

David Elges, 56, was among the many passengers who misplaced baggage after flying by way of Heathrow to Washington Dulles Worldwide Airport final Thursday. Prior to now week, he stated, he has woken up early a number of occasions to name Delta about his lacking baggage: two giant suitcases and two garment baggage. A customer support agent advised him on Monday that Delta would ship a aircraft from Heathrow to convey misplaced baggage again to america, he stated, however he didn’t but know if his baggage had been on that aircraft.

“It’s very irritating,” he stated.

Regardless of the widespread inconveniences and rising costs due to inflation, client demand for journey stays sturdy, for now. Delta Air Strains on Wednesday reported a quarterly revenue of $735 million, and stated it anticipated sturdy demand to proceed into the autumn.