British Airways and easyJet have cancelled more than 100 flights to or from UK airports as chaos on Britain's runways continues for another day.
Long queues will likely be a feature at airports on Wednesday as coronavirus-related staff shortages continue to hit the aviation industry.
British Airways has grounded 78 flights to and from Heathrow Airport today due to its decision to reduce its schedule until the end of May to boost reliability, as well as routes suspended for several months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
EasyJet has cancelled at least 30 flights scheduled to or from Gatwick Airport today.
Among the routes affected are Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Krakow, Poland; Bologna, Italy; and Berlin, Germany.
Have you been affected by the chaos at British airports? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk
The week has been a torrid one for those moving through some of the UK's airports.
Manchester Airport has been badly hit by staff shortages, leading to long lines at security and many people missing their flights.
Scenes of chaos have also unfolded at Birmingham Airport, which was badly hit by flight cancellations.
British Airways withdrew six flights on Tuesday, having cancelled 62 across the country on Monday.
EasyJet grounded about 60 flights to and from the UK on Tuesday following 62 cancellations on Monday.
Heathrow has advised people to arrive three hours before their flights are scheduled to depart, and to check for cancellations before heading to the airport.
Manchester Airport has seen the worst delays over the past month, with some passengers forced to wait outside in the car park due to the long delays.
Yesterday Manchester Airports Group chief Karen Smart stepped down from her role after two years at the helm.
A spokesman for MAG, which also runs London Stansted and East Midlands airports, said she had decided to return to the south of England, where her family lives, to pursue "fresh career opportunities".
The airport seems to be struggling with a surge of passengers following the end of coronavirus restrictions.
Two million people went through it in February this year, compared to just 70,000 in the same month in 2021.
Tensions have been boiling over in Manchester, where some passengers were reportedly spotted jumping over barriers and jostling for space.
Steve Blears called the scenes "chaos", estimating he waited in a queue of around 1,000 people outside the airport at just before 5am on Tuesday.
Once inside, he said there was "confusion with people unclear where to check in and where to queue".
Robert Whittaker said he waited over two hours in terminal 1, describing it as "peak chaos".
Some have claimed that recent staffing issues are not entirely to blame for issues at Manchester Airport.
"Not entirely sure that travel restrictions/Covid can be blamed," Mark McCausland wrote on Twitter.
"Have been flying almost every week for many years and for a very long time indeed Manchester Airport has been consistently one of the most unfriendly and disagreeable airports to fly through."
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has said that police officers and fire fighters could be drafted in to help deal with the logistical problems.
A disabled woman said she "near to tears" following her experience at Manchester Airport, Liverpool Echo reported.
The passenger, from the Wirral and who did not want to be named, said she flew from the airport on Monday, March 28 to Abu Dhabi, but claims the "whole experience was traumatic".
The woman said she is "totally reliant" on people helping her and her husband through the various points of the airport due to her disability but faced delays in getting help during her most recent visit.
She claimed there was a lack of staff at the check-in and security, but also at the wheelchair assistance. The passenger claimed she waited for two and half hours in total to receive a wheelchair and "only got one" because her plane was due to leave in 20 minutes and her husband offered to push her through.
The woman said: "I've never experienced anything like my trip through Manchester Airport last week. It's normally very easy and smooth travelling as a disabled passenger and in 10 years of needing this service have never experienced what I did.
"I felt so anxious the whole time."
On Tuesday, John O'Neill, North West regional industrial officer for Unite, said union officials were meeting airport management to discuss pay.
He said after mass redundancies due to Covid, some workers have found alternative jobs with similar wages and may not be willing to return to work at the airport doing unsocial hours for similar rates of pay.
MAG is partly owned by the 10 local authorities of Greater Manchester, with the biggest stake held by Manchester Council.
The MAG airport site is currently offering jobs for drivers with a starting salary of £13,000 a year and security "ambassador" jobs targeted for students paying £10.53 per hour, including night shifts, 3am starts, weekends and bank holidays.
Last year's annual report for Manchester Airport showed the top earning director was paid £2.5 million in 2021, a £500,000 increase on the previous year, and pay for directors as a whole increased from £5.9 million to £7.3 million in 2021.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Bargain-basement wages and insecure jobs must be consigned to the past if the sector wants to get back on track.
"It is pretty simple - if you want to thrive, treat your workers with respect and don't attack their jobs, pay and conditions."
Paul Charles, head of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said it could take at least two or three months to get through a nasty cocktail of staff shortages, Covid illness and a backlog in approving security passes for airport and airline workers.
"It's ironic that the very desire to get people booking again, post-pandemic, is causing more difficult transport issues than those created by COVID itself," he said.
EasyJet said it was rostering additional standby crew, but it had cancelled some flights on routes where it runs frequent services so passengers had options to rebook.
