Thousands of British vacationers faced additional confusion today at UK airports as easyJet canceled dozens more flights, while other families trapped in Europe scrambled to find alternate routes home.
As people rushed back to work and school after half-term, they crossed borders rather than wait for later flights, with many paying hundreds of pounds on fresh flights or other modes of transportation such as Eurostar trains.
Teachers who needed to return to the classroom and A-level students who risked missing examinations were among those affected after easyJet cancelled or delayed more than 300 flights across Europe in the last three days.
Today, EasyJet canceled 27 flights, 22 at Gatwick and seven at Luton. Arrivals were from Gran Canaria, Pafos, Lanzarote, Kos, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Rijeka, Luqa, Bastia, Nantes, Bordeaux, and Milan, and departures were from Amsterdam, Luqa, Rijeka, Copenhagen, Bastia, Nantes, Bordeaux, and Milan.
Wizz Air also canceled two flights from Tel Aviv and Faro to Gatwick. Three easyJet arrivals from Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Palermo were canceled at Luton, as were four departures to Bristol, Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Palermo.
124 British Airways flights were canceled today at London Heathrow Airport, while the airline underlined that impacted passengers were given plenty of warning because these services were all canceled a few months ago.
Due to a lack of workers, UK airline passengers have been inconvenienced for several months, after the companies let thousands of people go during the pandemic. Due to an increase in demand since the limitations were relaxed, airlines, airports, and ground handling companies are having difficulty recruiting new workers and processing security checks.