With a recent surge in summer bookings, holidaymakers appear to be reviving the ‘Great British Staycation,’ while the country’s aviation industry continues to be beset by chaos.
Travelers are flocking to the beaches of Dorset, the Welsh valleys, and the Cornish coast in an attempt to avoid Britain’s troubled airports, according to tourism officials.
Blackpool is currently the most-searched location of all the UK’s staycation destinations, with bookings at Sykes Holiday Cottages, Finest Retreats, and Feather Down Farms at an all-time high.
Staycationers are being advised to book sooner rather than later, as prices are set to rise as the mayhem that has seized Britain’s airports in recent weeks continues.
It comes as passengers flying abroad faced long lines at Manchester Airport today, with warnings that strike action across Europe threatens to wreak even more misery on summer vacations, amid fears that the situation could deteriorate.
Those who have only paid a 10% deposit should consider cancelling immediately, according to aviation expert Julian Bray, “since you have no guarantee of an outward trip or a return flight.”
He used the example of a family of four delayed in the Canary Islands for days due to a lack of available seats on flights, who could face a £4,000 price to return to the UK via ferry, rail, and possibly more flights.
Paul Charles, of travel consultancy The PC Agency, warned UK staycation prices are soaring amid fears firms were ‘price gouging’. He told MailOnline: ‘Staycations have become more popular during the pandemic and will continue to be sought after this year.
‘Some are put off by airport issues, other consumers don’t want to pay for flights. However, prices for holidaying within the UK have also been rising, mostly because of the inflationary environment and, of course, the sky-high demand.
‘Prices are typically around 10 to 15 per cent higher this year but consumers desperate for a break do seem to be booking and paying the higher prices. They just need to hope for good weather.’
There had also been fears of decline in the number of Brits opting for a staycation amid the cost-of-living crisis and soaring inflation forcing families to tighten the purse strings.
Allora’s chief commercial officer Michael De Jongh told MailOnline: ‘We’ve heard of hotels increasing their prices as a result of the airport chaos, but this certainly has not been the case with the hotels in the Allora network.’
He added: ‘Staycations are still very popular, but the cost of living crisis means holidaymakers are increasingly looking to save money wherever they can. This means many of them will look for slightly cheaper packages or to reduce the length of their stay.
‘The good news for the hotel industry is that international visitors are back in force, once again enjoying all that Britain and Ireland have to offer.’
It comes as thousands of families returning from half-term getaways and bank holiday breaks were left stranded abroad while others were hit by further delays, with more flights cancelled earlier this week by airlines such as easyJet and Wizz Air.
Teachers were feared to be among those set to miss the return to work after airlines cancelled hundreds of flights at the last minute.
Mr Bray added: ‘If you just paid a deposit and its usually about 10 per cent, it’s worth considering cancelling your holiday at the moment because you have no guarantee of an outward flight or a return flight – or if your return flight is delayed or cancelled and you need to be put up in a hotel. If you’re on the Canary Islands, it’s a problem.
‘If you’re a family of four as a capital sum that could be £3,000 to £4,000. If you then have to pay for return transit, which would be a ferry to the mainland, possible train, possible new flights – then all the baggage to contend with.
‘I don’t say everybody should do it, but they should consider. If you’ve got a spare £2,000 or £3,000 that you can take as emergency money so you’ve got the wherewithal to get back, you might take a different view on it.’
He said airlines were struggling to move people from cancelled flights onto other planes because booking levels were so high – and that previous policies of overbooking by 10 per cent because there were normally 20 per cent no-shows were now redundant post-Covid, because ‘everybody wants to get away and nobody is cancelling’.
Mr Bray also warned that there were 60,000 job vacancies to be filled in the industry, and a backlog of three to six months of potential workers going through the vetting procedure which they require before starting training.
He advised people consider cancelling ‘up to Christmas because the delay in getting clearance for people is three to six months which means that the training starts after that, which means you’re still not going to be up to speed’.
Ministers and officials met with aviation industry leaders and the Border Force earlier this week to increase’resilience for the sector throughout the summer’ to avoid more travel problems, according to Downing Street.
However, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman stated that the aviation industry was ultimately responsible for addressing staff shortages.
The government’s spokeswoman stated, “We completely appreciate that the aviation industry, like many others, has had major obstacles throughout the pandemic.”
‘However, they are ultimately responsible for ensuring that they have enough people to satisfy demand, and we have made it clear that they must increase recruiting to ensure minimal interruption.’
Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has refused to help short-staffed airlines by loosening visa requirements in order to reduce travel misery, and has also ruled out bringing in the army to help with lineups at Britain’s beleaguered airports.
EasyJet pilots have also accused the ‘chaotic’ airline of canceling potential flights during the half-term holidays because ‘foolish’ executives believed they could continue to operate despite laying off hundreds of employees during the pandemic.
Pilots from France who work for the Luton-based company have warned of a ‘terrifying potential’ of even more disruption this summer, as fears grow that passengers may abandon the airline due to the instability.
The French SNPL pilot union also accused easyJet managers of ignoring warnings that the company would struggle to meet demand if Covid-19 limitations were loosened, citing “operational meltdowns.” They also claimed that “easyJet top management appears to be cursed, doomed to become penny wise and pound dumb.”
The letter, addressed to easyJet’s Swedish CEO Johan Lundgren, accused the company’s officials of being “fooled” into believing they could operate a summer schedule despite having “few flight crew, cabin personnel, or flight planning officers.”
EasyJet slashed 1,400 UK jobs in the first ten months of the epidemic, from January 2021 to January 2022, despite warning that up to 4,500 of its 15,000 employees could lose their jobs shortly after the Covid-19 crisis began.
The situation at EasyJet, whose pre-tax losses for the six months to March were revealed last month to be £557 million, comes as British holidaymakers heading abroad were again met with long lines at UK airports today, while others were warned that strike action across Europe threatens to disrupt summer vacations.
After Ryanair’s pay talks fell through, unions representing Ryanair personnel in Spain stated they had “no choice” but to organize a strike. The decision increases the likelihood of extra hardship for travelers, many of whom are still stranded at vacation sites after their flights home were cancelled due to half-term flying problems.
‘Literally hundreds of personnel in distress have fed back how chaotic our operations have recently become, to unprecedented proportions,’ the French pilots wrote in their letter, according to the I daily. We’re confident that our disruption hasn’t even reached its apex, which is a terrifying proposition.’
They said there were dozens of’red cancellations’ just minutes before departure, and that several early flights were cancelled at the last minute despite easyJet managers knowing no staff was available the night before.