As pandemonium continues to grip airports throughout the UK, with a mountain of baggage accumulating outside Heathrow and commuters stranded, a diligent airline pilot has been photographed carrying luggage into a jet.
Before an Edelweiss flight from Edinburgh airport, video shows the conscientious captain down on the tarmac assisting ground staff in loading luggage into the cargo hold.
It comes as passengers face more gridlock at UK airports, including Heathrow, where hundreds of luggage have piled up outside Terminal 2.
On Friday, Heathrow officials blamed a ‘technical malfunction’ in the baggage system, which they claimed had been resolved.
While there is ‘ongoing inconvenience,’ a Heathrow representative stated today. However, they stated that no more baggage would be delayed, and that the airport will do all possible to ensure that all customers flying today would be able to take their luggage with them.
It also comes as massive queues formed at Stansted airport this morning, with images resembling a’shootout’ of people sleeping in the airport overnight with aircraft delayed by more than six hours.
Stansted has been chastised by disgruntled passengers for days due to long lines, delays, and cancellations, which are showing no signs of abating as the UK prepares for the’summer of discontent.’
David Lammy, a Labour shadow minister, is also caught up in the commotion, tweeting about it to his more than 780,000 followers.
In addition to long lines for security and check-in, a number of passengers have reported delays overnight and this morning that appear to have impacted hundreds of people.
Ryanair is one of the most popular airlines flying in and out of Stansted, but customers have complained about poor service and long lines at gates before boarding planes.
A passenger posted on social media late last night that their Ryanair flight was supposed to leave at 5 p.m., but they had been stuck on board for more than six hours.
Meanwhile, videos on social media show a long line of people waiting for a Stansted shuttle bus on both sides of the road.
One customer told MailOnline that the bus service is ‘awful’ and that their experience so far has been ‘disappointing.’
They drove 90 miles to Stansted airport, paid £70 to park their car, and then waited for the next bus, which takes 15 minutes to arrive at the airport.
However, there was a 20-minute wait for a bus, and when it did arrive, it was so packed that only about 10 people could board.
According to the passenger, over 100 people are now waiting for a bus at the same stop.
It’s unclear whether the airplane really took off or if passengers were forced to change flights.
‘Stood in corridor at gate 83, Stansted for last 30 minutes,’ one social media user wrote this morning.
‘Hadn’t we been able to wait in departures if the flight to Shannon was delayed?’
This morning, another flyer remarked that ‘the whole of England is in the security queue.’
Overnight, problems persisted, with one Twitter user comparing the scenario to a’shootout.’
‘Stansted 3am is the most no-rules area in the world, FYI,’ they said.
‘Bodies scattered all over the floor as if there had been a shootout, and a random guy getting cautioned by transport police in the corner.’
‘Not enough drinks or food’ for travellers leaving Stansted on a four-hour Ryanair trip, according to one passenger, who added that each customer could only have one drink during the flight.
They further said that, despite advertising to the contrary, basic alternatives such as tea and coffee were unavailable.
‘We do experience passengers arriving the night before who are traveling on the first wave of departing planes,’ said a Stansted airport official.
‘Today, we expect 38,000 passengers to exit the Airport, and between 0400 and 0700 hours this morning, we processed over 9000 departing passengers, with an average queue length of 12 minutes.’
‘The operation was hampered this morning by the cancellation of the first Stansted Express inbound train to the Airport, which resulted in an increase in the number of passengers coming in a shorter period of time.’
‘This was exacerbated by a higher-than-normal absence rate, reducing the number of security lanes available at that peak time.’
‘At this time, the airport is operating normally with no operational issues.’
As the summer of discontent begins to take shape, the newest turmoil follows weeks of irritation at UK airports.
As a result of staff shortages, UK airports have seen hours of delays, hundreds of aircraft cancellations, and individuals forced to sleep on airport floors in recent weeks.
Thousands of workers in the aviation industry were laid off as flights around the world were halted due to the outbreak.
Heathrow’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, has warned that restoring capacity to pre-pandemic levels will take 12 to 18 months.
To avoid chaotic scenes this summer, airports have been instructed to postpone more flights, and Gatwick is reducing daily flights from 900 to 825 and 850 in August.
This translates to 4,000 flights being canceled over the course of the month, with additional cancellations expected from airlines and other airports.
Owing to a significant increase in demand this year, as well as increased worker absences due to Covid and other illnesses, airports are scrambling to find replacement employees as quickly as possible.
As a means of resolving the flying disruption, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today put pressure on airports to raise the wages of personnel such as luggage handlers.
After weeks of holiday travelers being stranded and long lines at airports, the Cabinet minister promised that additional government action will be taken to put an end to the chaos.
But he stressed that airlines and airports were ‘fundamentally’ to blame for the problems, which have seen several flights cancelled at the last minute, causing widespread suffering.
Mr Shapps compared the industry’s ‘tough bounceback’ from the Covid pandemic – which included chaotic scenes over Easter and the recent half-term holiday – to those lately observed in the haulage industry.
‘I think the solution in aviation, as in the rest of the economy, is actually not unlike to the way we solved – or are on our way to solving – the HGV lorry situation, which was causing so many problems, including the tankers at gas pumps,’ he told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
‘We did it by examining the entire job market for those individuals.’ Paying a little bit extra was frequently at the heart of it – ensuring that individuals were drawn to the industry.’
‘If you look at baggage handlers, for example, I don’t think they’ve got the best deals and packages in the past,’ the Transport Secretary added.
‘I believe we need to make those jobs worthwhile, well-paid, and pleasant to do.’
Mr Shapps has previously opposed proposals for immigration laws to be loosened in order to enable cheaper foreign employees into the UK to help alleviate the chaos at airports. He pledged, however, to release more information in the coming days about what the government will do to help alleviate the problems.
Ministers are ‘monitoring it like a hawk’ and ‘working very closely with the airline sector,’ according to the Transport Secretary. He also lauded Gatwick’s decision to urge airlines to cancel tens of thousands of flights this summer.
‘We’ve told the aviation sector that [the mayhem] can’t go on, and we’ve formed a working group with them that meets on a regular basis and works closely with them,’ he added.
‘We’re going to put in place a bunch of different things and ask them to do them.’
‘One of them was asking them to review their schedules now, rather than on the day of the flight or the day before, when they ruin someone’s holiday – but in advance, and I applaud Gatwick’s decision to look at the schedule and see if it can be fulfilled and give people notice now rather than six weeks or five weeks later, as they have done.
‘I think that’s a good idea. We’ll come up with some more suggestions to help relieve stress.
‘Of course, it all comes down to the industry.’ They must ensure that employees are hired and placed in the appropriate positions.’
Rail strikes next week will have a significant impact on tourists, as Tube and train services will be severely interrupted.
This will have an impact on airport services, with Stansted Express advising customers to expect a “significantly curtailed” service, and Gatwick Express canceling all trains for three days next week.
This week, an 82-year-old crippled man died tragically after falling on an escalator at Gatwick airport.
The man had been waiting for assistance to descend from his flight with his wife and son when he chose to exit the plane on Wednesday.
Wilson, a private company tasked with assisting disabled passengers, is said to have already escorted his companion from the plane.
He was left on the plane and was supposed to be picked up when he went out on foot with the rest of the passengers.
The disaster occurred on an escalator that rose from the runway level to the Skybridge, a tunnel that leads into the north terminal.
After being the first on the scene when he fell on the moving stairs at around 12.50pm, EasyJet workers battled to save his life.
‘A member of staff came to take [a] woman into the airport, but the man was left on the plane,’ according to a source. He must not have wanted to wait for the staff person to return, so he entered the terminal on his own.
‘A passenger fell down while riding the escalator and died as a result of his injuries. This was a horrible occurrence that should never have occurred. Someone ought to have been assisting him.’
This is the latest in a series of instances of disabled customers being stranded on planes for hours due to severe staff shortages, with ‘no employees’ available to assist them in disembarking.
A fire on the railway at Euston station caused hours of delays for passengers, with some being stranded on trains with “no water or air-conditioning” on the warmest day of the year, only days before a week of disastrous strikes.
The strikes, which will take place on June 21, 23, and 25, will be the greatest in decades, with half of the UK’s rail services expected to be shut down.
Some lines will operate on a limited basis, but only between the hours of 7.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. The general public is recommended to travel only when absolutely essential.
In response to a national push to save more than £2 billion across Britain’s railway network, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union has demanded 11% pay raises for staff and a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.