Passengers are being warned of some delays at airport as the half-term getaway sees increased numbers from this weekend. The majority of schools in Wales break up for a week-long break on Friday.
And many families are planning to get away after two years of coronavirus restrictions. But a lack of staff caused by the pandemic and increased numbers of travellers mean there have been some delays at the UK's busiest airports.
Read more: Five ways to make sure passport delays don't ruin your holiday
The aviation sector has blamed staff shortages for long queues reported at airports in recent weeks, including at Heathrow and Stansted.
British Airways and easyJet have also axed hundreds of flights in recent months due to ongoing staff shortages.
Here is the advice from some of the UK's biggest airports:
Bristol
There have been pictures of long queues at the airport in recent days, but not reports of anyone missing a flight.
The advice from the airport has been to arrive at the time indicated by the airline you are flying with, and not to arrive too early.
A statement from the airport says: "We work closely with all business partners and airline handling agents to ensure staffing levels are sufficient to provide a good service to passengers. We constantly review resourcing across all areas and adapt plans to meet demand and build in resilience where possible.
"We appreciate the frustration experienced by customers currently and please be reassured our teams are working exceptionally hard to assist customers throughout the airport journey."
They also urge customers to check with the airline when the check in and bag drop desks open and to arrive at the terminal at that time. The statement said: "Do not arrive too early as customers will not be able to check-in."
Heathrow
There were reports of passengers reporting hours of queuing for passport control on Monday morning (May 23).
The situation – due to delays at security – was described as “absolute chaos” and “manic” by passengers.
One traveller said he had “never seen it this bad”, with images showing hundreds of people huddled in Terminal 3.
The Airport provides some guidance on when passengers should arrive so that they have enough time to park their car, eat some food, drink a coffee, and do whatever else needs to be done before boarding a flight.
Heathrow Airport recommends arriving three hours before a flight regardless of whether it's to Europe or further afield.
They say going through security shouldn't take more than 30 minutes but it depends on how busy the airport is. To speed up the process, it helps to have the following ready and available at all times:
- Passport
- Any Covid documents that are needed
- Flight booking confirmation
- Bag of liquids (for when you go through security).
Birmingham
Birmingham Airport said 17,000 passengers were expected to fly off on Monday (May 23).
The BHX operation has been struggling to cope with an increase in demand now Covid travel restrictions are no more. And chief executive Nick Barton admitted chaos would continue amid the staffing crisis.
But things do seem to be improving and last week praise flew in for "amazing" staff after weeks of chaos.
A spokesman said on Monday: "We have 17,000 customers flying out of BHX today (May 23). Half of them were through security screening and airborne before 9am.
“We thank customers who presented compliant baggage at our pre-flight security screening today - with liquids, gels, pastes and larger electrical items removed. This helps keep everyone moving. It also helps our security officers in their vital task of keeping everyone safe.”
The airport is also running a major recruitment drive ahead of the summer.
Manchester
The advice for passengers remains to arrive three hours before their flight is due to depart.
The airport is currently in the process of recruiting for hundreds of rules in security and other area of the operation.
And is holding a jobs fair this week as part of its largest ever recruitment drive as the travel industry rebounds from the pandemic
Hundreds of roles available in security alone; other positions also on offer in customer service and hospitality teams More than 8,000 applications have been received since the turn of the year and hundreds of new recruits are currently going through security training and vetting processes
