As vacationers continue to be caught up in airport jams, ministers have revealed impromptu initiatives to help avert summer travel catastrophe.
They made plans to alter the rules that presently require airlines to fly a specific number of aircraft or risk losing valuable landing slots public yesterday.
In order to prevent last-minute cancellations and chaos in the airports, new laws were presented to Parliament.
They will permit a one-time “amnesty” on landing slots, allowing airlines to cancel flights before the busy summer travel period without having to worry about losing them permanently.
Following weeks of cancellations and lengthy lines due to staff shortages, thousands of travelers have had their flights and travel plans interrupted.
This morning, Heathrow’s luggage crisis also affected travelers as service members discarded dozens of pieces of luggage outside the baggage carousels.
At Manchester Airport this morning, travelers battled lengthy check-in lines and claimed that their bags had taken more than two hours to arrive despite being on the “only plane to land in T1” during that time.
One traveler reported being in the same immigration line at Heathrow Terminal 3 for the past two hours.
It is “total craziness” for two policemen to manage 500+ persons.
After the baggage system in Terminal 2 experienced a “technical issue” on Saturday, thousands of travelers were left without their luggage.
Without any staff present to sort through them, hundreds of bags were piled up throughout the terminal.
According to reports, some passengers had to leave without receiving their bags at all while others had to wait for them for hours.
one published online: “I arrived in Lisbon on a Sunday morning flight from Heathrow Airport, but my suitcase is still missing.”
Absolute disaster. I really don’t want to check it in for the return trip, even if it does arrive (unlikely)!
Travelers from Stansted Airport have been made to sleep on the ground before being’screamed’ at to get up by staff.
Complete mayhem in Stansted Airport every single night, according to one traveler.
People missing flights and being stranded without luggage or any taxis to get home are sleeping all over the check-in arrivals gate.
“Airport staff are yelling at passengers to stand up.” Terrible circumstances and a terrible third-world nation.
British Airways, easyJet, TUI, and Wizz Air have canceled scores of flights, some at the last minute, leaving thousands of customers stranded and wreaking havoc in airports.
After receiving criticism from thousands of passengers who experienced last-minute cancellations, easyJet said on Monday that it would be eliminating more than 10,000 flights from its schedule for July through September.
When announcing the change to the landing slots last night, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps stated, “I will do all in my power to stop it.” He continued, “It’s crucial they don’t face disappointing last-minute cancellations and mayhem at airports when the system can’t deliver.”
The declaration made today is intended to help airlines reassure travelers and make the upcoming few months as hassle-free as possible.
Robert Courts, the aviation minister, added: “We cannot have a scenario where people show up at the airport only to have their flight canceled or have significant delays.”
At the busiest airports, landing slots—which function like parking spots for aircraft—are utilized to control capacity.
A slot is a very valuable commercial asset that allows use of the entire range of airport facilities required to operate an aircraft.
Airlines must use slots a set amount of times – now 70 per cent of the time – each season in order to keep them.
“This is a good step that will assist build greater resilience into operations this summer, coming on top of measures already taken by the sector,” said Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK.
To make the summer peak as seamless as possible for our passengers, “We will continue to cooperate with ministries and the entire aviation eco-system.”
Travelers in Britain have been advised to prepare for a “worse than pleasant” experience during the upcoming few months.
In the midst of scenes of mayhem at Manchester and Heathrow, Ryanair’s CEO yesterday warned that instability at Britain’s major airports will persist “all through the summer.”
Air traffic control, baggage handling, and security are currently suffering from manpower shortages, according to Michael O’Leary, who has alleged that the Government’s Covid lockdowns and general “mismanagement” forced airport administrators to enact mass layoffs.
This issue will persist throughout the summer, especially at airports like Gatwick and Heathrow. According to him, it will get worse on the weekends and better throughout the week.
According to Mr. O’Leary, air traffic control problems and airport handling delays contributed to delays on 25% and 15%, respectively, of Ryanair flights over the past weekend.
In addition, he noted that Brexit was making things worse because airports were unable to attract foreign workers to fill positions when demand increased following the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
While easyJet began canceling 10,000 flights to popular European vacation destinations including Greece, Italy, and Spain from July through September, Heathrow and Gatwick have urged carriers to postpone thousands of flights this summer as they battle to reclaim control.
Another setback for travelers will come in the form of easyJet’s Spain-based cabin crew’s planned nine-day strike in July if their requests for increased pay from the low-cost carrier are not granted.
On July 1-3, 15-17, and 29-31, workers will go on strike, which might make traveling more difficult as the industry tries to keep up with the uptick in demand.
According to the union USO, the airline’s flight attendants in Spain are asking for a 40% raise in their base pay.
The announcement comes as UK airports continue to grapple with turmoil for travelers due to a lack of employees.
According to estimates, EasyJet would lose between £100 million and £200 million this year as a result of the predicted 11,000 flights it will be removing from its summer timetables.
It follows comments made by the former British Airways CEO that Heathrow “cannot deliver the core goods they are required to give.”
‘It is ironic that the three airports I cite in terms of large price hikes are also the three that have seen the most disruption in recent weeks,’ said Willie Walsh of Heathrow, Schiphol in Amsterdam, and Dublin.
It truly makes you wonder about the management executives of these airports who are unable to even offer the simplest of their own products. I will keep requesting that these airports clean up their actions.