Passengers who are travelling out of Heathrow Terminal 5 are facing the prospect of being separated from their luggage due to technical problems.

The airport has posted a statement on its website apologising to affected passengers and promising to resolve the matter as soon as possible:

A statement reveals: “We are experiencing intermittent issues with the Terminal 5 baggage system which has caused some bags to be processed manually.

“While passengers can currently check-in bags our engineers are still working to identify the root cause of the problems. Passengers may wish to carry essential items in hand baggage where possible.

“Manual processing has led to some bags not making flights in time.

“We are very sorry for any passengers affected and we are working with airlines to reunite passengers with their bags as quickly as possible.”