Less than 24 hours after Manchester Airport officials apologized for “delays” after long delays at the weekend, airline passengers again faced huge queues this morning. It’s the third day in a row that the airport – the UK’s busiest airport – has been significantly delayed. Photos this morning show long lines of people queuing to get to safety and departures, while passengers have also lamented the lack of organization at ticket offices. In a Twitter post, a frustrated passenger described his tail as an attempt to set a world record for the “longest conga line in the world”. It comes after images were posted on social media over the weekend showing chaos at security and overflowing luggage compartments at the airport. The bosses yesterday blamed the lack of staff due to the increase in Covid cases.
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To further add to the travel chaos, the easy airline easyJet today canceled up to 100 flights due to staff shortages due to Covid. As of Friday, the airline has completed at least 222 flights.
BA also canceled at least 115 flights to and from Heathrow Airport on Monday, although only five were believed to be last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages.
The total includes some flights that were canceled due to the airline’s decision last week to reduce its schedule until the end of May to boost reliability, as well as flights that were suspended for several months due to the pandemic, such as those with several Asian destinations.
At least five flights to European destinations, including Paris and Oslo, were canceled today from Heathrow Terminal 5.
Last week the West London airport faced its own chaos after a major collapse of BA IT forced the airline to cancel or delay hundreds of flights.
Drivers, meanwhile, reported a two-hour wait for Dover Harbor this morning. Blocked traffic around Dover, bad weather in the English Channel and the suspension of P&O services caused delays of up to nine hours in the port of Kent over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Eurotunnel services are also delayed by up to three hours today due to a train that has stopped in the Channel Tunnel. The Eurostar passenger service, which uses the same tunnel, also has delays in its services, according to its website.
The airport shutdown, meanwhile, has been blamed on staff shortages imposed by Covid, with Manchester Airport saying yesterday it was exploring the possibility of attracting short-term staff to help bring chaos under control.
An expert warned today that the disruption at airports such as Manchester could last for “months” as she and travel companies hire and train new staff to cope with rising demand after Covid.
Although all restrictions on Covid – as well as testing and self-isolation requirements – have been lifted in the UK, up to 4.9 million are believed to be infected with the virus, according to the UK’s largest Covid surveillance program.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that more than 4.1 million people had the virus each day during the week through March 26, equivalent to one in 13 infected.
Airline passengers report huge queues at Manchester Airport – the third busiest in the UK – for the third day in a row
Photos show large queues of people queuing for safety this morning, while passengers mourn the lack of organization at ticket gates
Passengers said they encountered “absolute chaos” at Manchester airport this morning, with long queues at safety (photo)
Passengers posted videos on social media this morning with huge long queues at Manchester Airport today. A spokesman for Manchester Airport acknowledged that the service was inadequate and said on Sunday: “We apologize to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport was below standard. “As we recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our entire industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges. As a result, we advise customers that safety queues may be longer than usual and encourage them to arrive as soon as possible as suggested by their airline.
There have also been reports of unrest at Heathrow Airport, which last week faced its own chaos following a major collapse of BA IT. In the photo: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2 this morning
Drivers, meanwhile, reported two hours of waiting for Dover Harbor this morning (photo: Queues at the M20 at Maidstone today). Blocked traffic around Dover, bad conditions in the English Channel and the suspension of P&O services caused delays of up to nine hours in the port of Kent over the weekend
It comes as passengers said they encountered “absolute chaos” at Manchester airport this morning, with long queues at safety.
EasyJet cancels more than 220 flights due to Covid staff shortages to leave some passengers stranded amid TLE airport chaos
EasyJet has canceled more than 220 flights, blaming the interruption on high levels of staff illness due to Covid.
At least 222 flights have been canceled since Friday, including 62 scheduled for Monday alone, most of which were canceled shortly on Saturday.
Covid infection rates are some of the highest since the onset of the pandemic.
A spokesman for EasyJet said: “As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses, EasyJet is experiencing higher-than-usual levels of employee illness.
“We have taken steps to mitigate this by setting up an additional waiting crew this weekend, however, with the current level of illness, we have also decided to make some cancellations in advance.”
They said they focused on “unifying flights where we have multiple frequencies, so that customers have more options to book their trip again, often on the same day.”
They added: “Unfortunately, some additional cancellations had to be made for today and tomorrow.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to customers on affected flights.
“We have made 62 precautionary cancellations of flights to and from the UK for tomorrow, which represents a small percentage of tomorrow’s total flight schedule which was scheduled to be more than 1645 flights.
“We canceled most of them yesterday.”
A passenger, sharing a photo of the queues, said: “5.30 p.m. and complete chaos at Manchester airport. No organization! Many flights are missing “.
Another, sharing a video, said: “Manchester Airport. “This is the current security line at Terminal 2 this morning. What happens?’.
It comes after shocking images that show huge upset at Manchester airport at the weekend.
On Twitter, a user posted on Sunday: “Manchester Airport is not ideal as it is so busy.
“Well done, as it is organized and the amazing staff smiles with abuses and announcements etc …
“We are excited about our fast cards and can not use them.”
A spokesman for Manchester Airport admitted the airport was incomplete. In a statement on Sunday, a spokesman said: “We apologize to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport did not meet the standards they were expecting.
“As we recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our entire industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges.
As a result, we advise customers that safety queues may be longer than usual and encourage them to arrive as soon as possible as suggested by their airline.
“Because of the security checks and training associated with these roles, it takes time for people to get started in our operation.
“That’s why we are exploring a number of short-term measures to offer the best service we can, such as using a personal agency and different ways in which existing colleagues can support our operation.
“We know that similar challenges are faced by airlines and third parties, such as baggage management agents, who operate on our website.
“Together, we work hard to provide the best service we can under the circumstances and resolve these issues as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, easyJet canceled about 100 flights on Monday, including 62 from the United Kingdom. The financial airline said it was responsible for higher than usual levels of staff absenteeism due to Covid.
EasyJet – one of Europe’s largest airlines – said the cancellations were a small part of its schedule on Monday, which is about 1,645 flights.
But it has left passengers with long delays. A passenger, who was to fly from Belfast Airport with easyJet this morning, said on Twitter: “First trip abroad after COVID. All right easy easyJet cancels flight with five hours notice.
Manchester Airport apologized for its services over the weekend, as staff shortages led to delays for check-in passengers
Long queues were reported at Manchester Airport on Sunday as the first weekend of April got off to a difficult start.
Alison Unwin, 60, also saw dozens of luggage at Manchester Airport – from flights that landed the previous day – scattered around the recovery room at Terminal 3.
On Twitter, a user posted on Sunday: “Manchester Airport is not ideal as it is so busy. Well done, as it is organized and the amazing staff smiles through abuse and announcements etc. Those who take ferries to France have better waste. Some truck drivers reported arrivals of up to two hours to reach Dover Harbor this morning. One wrote on Twitter: “Update… almost two hours after entering Dover, I’m almost checked in.”
Huge traffic queues appeared yesterday in Dover as …
