'Thousands' of checked-in suitcases were left behind at Amsterdam airport in just 1 day

• Schipol airport said "thousands" of bags were left behind on Wednesday due to technical problems.
• Passengers transfering in Amsterdam to European flights cannot check in luggage on Thursday.

"Thousands" of checked-in suitcases were left behind at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Wednesday due to technical problems.

Passengers changing planes at the airport on Thursday have been told they cannot check in luggage due to the backlog.

"Yesterday there was a temporary technical disruption in part of the underground baggage system," a spokesperson for the airport told Insider. "Schiphol ensured that the baggage system was able to process all baggage again as quickly as possible.

"As a result of the technical failure, thousands of suitcases were unfortunately left behind at Schiphol yesterday, mainly from transfer passengers," the spokesperson continued, adding that airlines were working to move the piles of missing luggage as soon as possible.

KLM told all passengers traveling to European destinations with a connection in Amsterdam on Thursday to travel with hand luggage only.

Schiphol is one of Europe's busiest airports. It has flights to about 300 destinations and is a major transfer hub, with almost 44% of its passengers changing planes at the airport last year.

Some Twitter users have shared screenshots of what appears to be emails from KLM saying that only customers whose final destination is either Amsterdam or outside Europe could bring hold luggage.

"Due to a major disruption of the baggage system at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol we are facing an unmanageable situation which is beyond our control," the airline said in the email. One passenger said she had less than 24 hours notice of the disruption.

Affected passengers have the option to rebook their flight or obtain a travel voucher, the airline said.

"I cannot guarantee whether there will still be a disruption tomorrow," a KLM representative said on the company's Twitter account.

KLM said all airlines using Schipol were affected by the baggage problem.

The malfunction at Schiphol comes as passengers face mounting travel chaos. A combination of understaffing and soaring demand for travel means that airlines and airports are delaying and canceling thousands of flights, losing luggage, and facing huge lines for check-in and security.

Some passengers have complained on Twitter that their check-in luggage never made it onto their KLM flights.