Passengers queue for flights at Heathrow on Tuesday, May 31
(Picture: PA)Chaos at airports may be partly down to airlines “overbooking” the number of passenger on planes, a Cabinet minister said on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also accused aviation bosses of not properly responding to warnings given months ago that they needed to recruit more staff.
The airline says passengers were given advance notice.
EasyJet has cancelled at least 31 flights at Gatwick, including to destinations such as Bologna, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; Krakow, Poland; and Edinburgh.
Mr Raab told BBC Breakfast: “There has been some questions about whether they have overbooked.
“We often find this with aviation, with airline bookings, they overbook and that is part of the economic model.
“They have got to address those issues.”
Mr Raab said the government had provided £8 billion to the sector during the pandemic. He also pointed to regulatory changes which he said has made it easier for airlines to recruit staff.
“But at the same time the sector has got to respond to that pent-up demand that is coming back.
“The Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, has been talking for months with the sector about making sure that they have got the recruitment in place to deal with the resurgent demand for travel.”
He said the government would work with the sector, but added: “It’s ultimately up to the aviation and the holiday sector to make sure that they have got the staff in place.
“If there are smart things we can do with the recruitment, then of course we want to work together with them.
“We want to facilitate those holidays.
“But ultimately, it’s up to those businesses to respond to their demand and frankly the advice has been there for months now from the Transport Secretary to deal with those recruitment issues.
“So fundamentally, the responsibility is on them to get their capacity in place to deal with their customers and consumers.”
