Passengers departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport’s Terminal 3 have been told to allow extra time for check-in as intermittent technical issues at the baggage drop-off area continued to cause delays on Wednesday.

The problems began around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and have impacted all airlines at the terminal, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) spokesperson Robin Smith told CP24.

The automated bag sorter is having difficulty reading luggage tags, Smith said. He explained to CTV Toronto that the airport is using a “simplified baggage tag” that is easier for the computer to read in the interim.

An additional 15 workers were brought in to assist customer service and help move the backlog of bags manually onto the conveyor system, the GTAA said.

Some flights have been held up because of the baggage difficulties, but the GTAA didn’t provide an exact number of those affected.

Some travellers were forced to wait “several hours” in the baggage drop-off line on Tuesday evening. One man said he had been waiting with his family in the line for more than two hours.

“We did our online booking yesterday thinking that this would be a nice, quick process and it’s been two hours in line just to check our bags in,” he said.

An unknown number of passengers left their luggage in a departure hallway after checking in with their carrier.

A few flyers wrote in to CTV Toronto to complain that their luggage didn’t arrive with them at their destination. Passenger Ron Dubuc said he’s part of a group of 150 travellers who are waiting for their bags at Croatia’s Zagreb Airport. He said the airport is missing 223 pieces of luggage.

“Pearson had informed Air Transat that all luggage was aboard, after waiting two hours on the tarmac,” Dubuc wrote. “We all arrived with families and children but no luggage.”

The GTAA sympathized with those passengers left waiting for their belongings.

“It’s hard to hear that people are arriving at their destination without their baggage. I think that’s a bad situation for anyone,” Smith said. “We’re sorry to hear that but we are working on a solution so we can solve that as quickly as possible.”

Pearson officials called the software issue an “all hands on deck situation.” They advised travellers to show up 90 minutes before their departure time in a tweet on Wednesday morning. Pearson officials also suggested that passengers check in online and fly with only carry-on luggage to bypass some of the delays.

The technical issues are unrelated to the ongoing labour dispute with Swissport baggage handlers that went on strike at Pearson Airport on July 27, according to the GTAA.

There is still no word on when the problem will be fixed.