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Airport hiccup leaves 100s of passengers pantless

The Local Germany
The Local Germany - [email protected]
Airport hiccup leaves 100s of passengers pantless
Photo: DPA

Discombobulated by the leap year, the luggage conveyor system at Düsseldorf Airport refused to let 1,200 pieces of luggage onto planes on Tuesday morning.

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Every year there are those who sleep through the clock changes for summer - and every four years there are others who wake up to the 29th of February wondering why it's not March yet.

Yesterday at Düsseldorf International Airport though one tardy individual flat-out refused to accept the existence of the "Schalttag" (leap day) – but this time it wasn't a human:

The luggage conveyor system at one of Germany's most renowned airports got mixed up with the dates as someone had forgotten to bring the software up to speed with 2016's extra-24 hours.

Consequently, there were a few hick-ups with the system and 1,200 bags and suitcases didn't board the plane on time, meaning that an equal number of customers are likely to be sleeping in old underwear tonight.  

The raw manpower of a team of airport employees tried to save what was already lost as soon as the first disturbances occurred around 5.45am.  

Düsseldorf Airport spokesperson Christian Hinkel ascribed the problem to the new software only been installed within the past half year. When asked by The Local he stated that "the software didn't recognize the 29th of February as a date."

The whole morning was then spent sending the luggage after their owners  – yet, despite the failure of the airport, customers are advised to turn to their travel agencies for reimbursement.

With a chuckle Hinkel ended the interview saying:

"We hope that we'll do better in four years."

The poor passengers will feel less like laughing in their old underwear.

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