Fed-up holidaymakers have reported ‘horrendous’ queues and ‘absolute chaos’ at airports this morning, with the misery set to continue into the summe
Thousands of sun-starved Brits hoping for a post-pandemic break have described ‘horrendous’ lineups and ‘total pandemonium’ at airports this morning, as staffing shortages and cancelled flights continue to cause travel agony.
At airports such as Manchester and Gatwick,’massive’ lines, hours-long security lines, and cancelled flights were reported, with passengers calling the situation ‘shameful.’
It comes after ministers were urged last night to impose stronger sanctions on airlines who overbook routes, and Heathrow’s CEO warned of 18 months of flight disruption.
And if hundreds of members of the GMB and Unite unions, including British Airways check-in and ground operations personnel, go on strike this summer, the chaos will only get worse.
A referendum on industrial action has been scheduled for June 23, the same week that the militant Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) plans to hold three days of nationwide rail strikes, threatening to bring the country to a halt and spark worries of a ‘summer of discontent.’
Meanwhile, an aviation source told the New York Times that airlines were’resigning themselves’ to the mess, adding that they were ‘building in cancellations and giving notice when possible,’ and that ‘it’s not going to wash in the long run.’
As well as the pilots’ union. BALPA’s general secretary Martin Chalk slammed some airlines for requesting pilots to take wage cutbacks “despite the fact that they are working just as hard as they were prior to the pandemic” when it comes to having enough pilots to meet demand this summer.
One traveller posted a photo from Manchester Airport’s Terminal 1 this morning, showing a massive check-in line at 3 a.m., before claiming it took almost two hours to get through security.
A video also showed a conveyor belt in utter ‘disarray,’ with bags scattered across the floor and cases spilling.
Passengers also reported’massive lineups’ at Terminal 2, which they described as ‘dreadful’ due to ‘poor ventilation,’ while another said that just one man was working at passport control at one point, with over 600 people waiting to have their documents checked.
Passengers at London Gatwick said they were forced to ‘fend for themselves’ after waiting nearly two hours for a cancelled Wizzair flight. ‘Shocking doesn’t begin to describe it,’ one Twitter user raged.
Another described the travel hub as “shameful” for having only two border agents handling “the main UK line” at around midnight last night.
On Wednesday, Martin Chalk, general secretary of the pilots’ union BALPA, told BBC Radio 4 Today that he believes the late cancellations will be’relatively soon’ because the firms are ‘on top of it.’
He did agree, however, that the current scenario is a “challenge” that is “very difficult” for passengers and “incredibly unpleasant” for employees who want to provide a professional service.
He went on to say that the pilot training system is currently ‘under strain,’ since many people are returning from being laid off during the pandemic.
‘It takes three or four months for a pilot to go from not flying for a while to being productive, and as you can imagine, it’s a complex job. We need them to be ready and experienced when they return to the line, so it does take a while, and the training systems are currently under pressure,’ he explained.
‘Some of them do, some are sailing closer to the wind…’ he said when asked if airlines have enough pilots for the summer. Despite the fact that their pilots are working just as hard as they were before the outbreak, some of them are still asking them to take salary cutbacks.’
He also stated that it takes ‘upwards of 40 people’ to ‘get a plane airborne,’ including ground personnel, cabin crew, and luggage handlers.
‘A lot of that expert knowledge was largely lost during the pandemic and will have to be reacquired, and that will take time,’ he added.
It comes as officials faced mounting pressure yesterday night to impose stronger sanctions on airlines that overbook flights, with Heathrow’s head predicting 18 months of aviation disruption.
MPs demanded that the Civil Aviation Authority be given more authority to crack down on ‘cowboy’ airlines.
Despite weeks of cancellations and hundreds of travellers stuck abroad in recent days, the CAA has taken no action against airlines.
According to John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow Airport, “the aviation sector will take 12 to 18 months to completely regain capacity.”
‘What we observed in several airports over the last two weeks is that supply and demand were out of balance… we need to make sure we’re preparing far better,’ he told the Financial Times.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps suggested last night that beefing up the CAA’s powers was an option.
He said: ‘It’s galling to see passengers stranded abroad due to operators selling flights they cannot deliver.
‘I’ve met with the sector to express my concerns… and have made clear this cannot be tolerated.
‘We have also run a consultation on consumer rights issues, including additional powers for the CAA, and will publish a response on this in due course.’
BA travellers face more chaos as the GMB union is balloting members on a strike over pay.
Heathrow check-in staff and ground handlers took ten per cent pay cuts in the pandemic and are demanding they be reversed. The ballot closes on June 23, and they could walk out from July.
Nadine Houghton, a GMB officer, told the Times: ‘Staff at Heathrow have been verbally and physically abused by angry passengers after British Airways staff shortages and IT failures nearly brought the airport to a standstill.
‘On top of that, they had their pay slashed during BA’s callous fire and rehire policy. Now they want that money back. Bosses have had it back. Heathrow ground and check in staff want to know why they haven’t had it too.’
EasyJet cancelled another 80 flights yesterday. BA axed a further 118, but it stressed these were removed from its schedules weeks ago with people re-booked on to other planes. Tui is axing six flights a day from Manchester until the end of the month.
MPs said ministers should look at giving the CAA the ability to impose multi-million-pound fines.
Tory Karl McCartney said ‘firmer action’ is needed, adding: ‘Given the high pay of executives and profit levels, on-the-spot large fines could work.’
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrats’ transport spokesman, added: ‘We need urgent action to address this cowboy behaviour from airlines.’
Tim Alderslade, CEO of trade body Airlines UK, said the ‘vast majority’ of flights are ‘operating normally’, adding: ‘We continue to work around the clock to resolve the issues.’
At present, the CAA can’t impose fines for breaches of consumer rights, and beefing up its powers would likely require primary legislation being brought before Parliament.
The industry has called for aviation workers to be added to the shortage occupation list to alleviate the staff shortage, making it easier to recruit ‘cheap’ foreign labour from Europe.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, described the situation for those who have had flights cancelled as ‘hideous and disappointing.’
She said: ‘About 30 per cent of all calls our members are receiving now are from customers that are reading the headlines, have bookings for July and August in the school holidays, and they are worried.’
It comes as bookings are outnumbering pre-pandemic levels, with the number of Brits jetting off for half-term breaks last week being 21 per cent higher than in 2019.
According to Bue-Said, summer holiday bookings are currently at 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
She added: ‘The significant surge has created a bottleneck in the system. The industry is now working really hard to make sure that over the next few weeks we are building resilience and scaling up as much as we can from a workforce point of view to meet customer demand and, frankly, give them a much better experience in some cases than they’re experiencing.’