THIRD day of Easter getaway chaos: Staff sickness due to Covid creates huge queues at Manchester and Heathrow, easyJet and BA cancel flights, two-hour wait at port of Dover and Eurostar passengers face three-hour delays due to train stuck in tunnel
- Pictures show huge queues again at Manchester Airport, as Britons head away on mass for the Easter holidays
- EasyJet passengers also face disruption, with 100 flights cancelled today, with at least 220 axed since Friday
- BA has cancelled five flights to European destinations, including Paris and Oslo, this morning from Heathrow
- Drivers have reported two-hour long waits for the Port of Dover, after nine hour delays over the weekend
Britons flocking abroad for an Easter getaway are facing ‘absolute chaos’ at Manchester Airport today, while easyJet passengers contend with cancelled flights and motorists tackle two hour long queues at the port of Dover.
Airline passengers are reporting huge queues at Manchester Airport – the UK’s third busiest – for the third day in the row.
Pictures show long lines of people queuing for security this morning, while passengers have bemoaned a lack of organisation at check-in gates.
Images from over the weekend showed huge queues, chaos at security and overflowing baggage areas at the airport.
There was also reports of disruption at Heathrow Airport, which last week faced its own chaos after a major BA meltdown.
It comes as budget airline easyJet has today cancelled up to 100 flights due to Covid-enforced staff shortages. The airline has axed at least 222 trips axed since Friday.
BA has also cancelled at least five flights to European destinations, including Paris and Oslo this morning from Heathrow Terminal 5 today.
Meanwhile, drivers have this morning reported two-hour long waits for the Port of Dover. Yesterday gridlocked traffic around Dover, poor conditions in the Channel and the suspension of P&O services caused delays of up to nine hours at the Kent port.
Eurostar services are also delayed by up to three hours due to a train that has come to a halt in the Channel Tunnel.
Airport disruption, meanwhile, is being blamed on Covid-enforced staff shortages, with Manchester Airport yesterday saying it was exploring the possibility of bringing in short-term agency staff to help bring the chaos under control.
Though all Covid restrictions – as well as testing and self-isolation requirements – have been lifted in England, as many as 4.9million are now thought to be infected with the virus, according to the UK’s biggest Covid surveillance scheme.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated more than 4.1million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected.
Airline passengers are reporting huge queues at Manchester Airport – the UK’s third busiest – for the third day in the row
Pictures show long lines of people queuing for security this morning, while passengers have bemoaned a lack of organisation at check-in gates
Massive traffic queues were seen in Dover yesterday as a shortage of ferry services meant severe delays for HGV drivers. Drivers are reporting a two hour delay today
It comes as passengers said they faced ‘absolute chaos’ at Manchester Airport this morning, with long queues at security.
EasyJet cancels more than 220 flights due to Covid staff shortages to leave some passengers stranded amid airport chaosTLE
EasyJet has cancelled more than 220 flights, blaming the disruption on high levels of staff sickness due to Covid.
At least 222 flights have been axed since Friday, including 62 that had been scheduled for Monday alone, the majority of which were cancelled at short notice on Saturday.
Covid infection numbers are some of the highest they have been since the start of the pandemic.
An EasyJet spokesperson 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 sickness.
‘We have taken action to mitigate this through the rostering of additional standby crew this weekend, however, with the current levels of sickness we have also decided to make some cancellations in advance.’
They said the focus was on ‘consolidating flights where we have multiple frequencies so customers have more options to rebook their travel, often on the same day.’
They added: ‘Unfortunately it has been necessary to make some additional cancellations for today and tomorrow.
‘We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to customers on affected flights.
‘We have made 62 preemptive cancellations for flights to and from the UK for tomorrow which represents a small proportion tomorrow’s total flying programme which was planned to be more than 1645 flights.
‘We cancelled the majority of these yesterday.’
One passenger, sharing a picture of the queues, said: ‘5.30am and absolute chaos in Manchester Airport. No organisation whatsoever! Lots missing flights.’
Another, sharing a video, said: ‘Manchester Airport. ‘This is the current line for security at Terminal 2 this morning. What is happening?’.
It comes after shocking images showed huge disruption at Manchester Airport over the weekend.
On Twitter, one user posted on Sunday: ‘Manchester Airport not ideal as it’s so busy. Well done as it’s organised and amazing staff are smiling through abuse and announcements etc… Gutted about our fast track passes and not being able to use them.’
A Manchester Airport spokesperson admitted the service was short-staffed and said on Sunday: ‘We apologise to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport has fallen short of the standards they expected.
‘As we recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our whole industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges.
‘As a result we are advising customers that security queues may be longer than usual, and we encourage them to arrive at the earliest time recommended by their airline.
‘Due to the security checks and training associated with these roles, it takes time to for people to be able to start work in our operation
‘That is why we are exploring a number of short-term measures to deliver the best possible service we can, such as the use of agency staff and different ways in which existing colleagues can support our operation.
‘We are aware similar challenges are being faced by airlines and third parties, such as baggage handling agents, operating on our site.
‘Together, we are working hard to deliver the best possible service we can in the circumstances, and to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.’
Meanwhile, easyJet has cancelled around 100 flights on Monday, including 62 from the UK. The budge airline said higher than usual levels of staff absence due to Covid was to blame.
EasyJet – which is one of Europe’s biggest airlines – said the cancellations were a small part of its schedule on Monday, which is around 1,645 flights.
But it has left passengers facing long delays. One passenger, who was due to fly from Belfast Airport with easyJet this morning, said on Twitter: ‘First trip overseas since COVID. It’s going well… easyJet cancel flight at five hours notice.
Manchester Airport apologised for its services over the weekend after staff shortages led to hours of delays for passengers checking in
Large queues were reported at Manchester Airport on Sunday as the first April weekend got off to a difficult start
Alison Unwin, 60, also saw scores of uncollected bags in Manchester Airport – from flights which landed the day before – strewn around the reclaim hall in Terminal 3
On Twitter, one user posted on Sunday: ‘Manchester Airport not ideal as it’s so busy. Well done as it’s organised and amazing staff are smiling through abuse and announcements etc… Gutted about our fast track passes and not being able to use them.’ Those taking ferries to France have fared litter better. Some lorry drivers reported up to two hour delays in getting to the Port of Dover this morning. One wrote on Twitter: ‘Update… almost two hours after entering Dover I’m almost at check in.’
‘Result: A 10 hour delay and 2.00 am arrival in our hotel Now just been charged £14 for a pint and a G&T in the grimiest airport I’ve been in since the year dot. Sigh.’
A spokesperson for easyJet told the BBC: ‘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 sickness.
‘Unfortunately it has been necessary to make some additional cancellations for today and tomorrow. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.’
Meanwhile, BA has cancelled at least half a dozen flights from Heathrow Terminal 5 today. Flights to Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Oslo and Krakow are among those cancelled today.
Away from airports, those taking ferries to France have fared litter better. Some lorry drivers reported up to two hour delays in getting to the Port of Dover this morning.
One wrote on Twitter: ‘Update… almost two hours after entering Dover I’m almost at check in.’
Gridlocked traffic the Kent port, along with poor sea conditions in the Channel and the suspension of P&O services following its recent staffing row resulted in nine hour delays yesterday.
The British Ports Association told The Times that it expected congestion to ease but that disruption would continue until the middle of the week.
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