Heathrow’sTerminal 2 was extremely busy on Monday morning as thousands headed off on their Easter holidays
(Picture: Rex Features)Holidaymakers hoping to get away for long awaited Easter breaks faced a “Manic Monday” of disruption with dozens of cancelled flights, long delays for ferries and a warning of the heaviest traffic for eight years.
British Airways axed at least 64 European and domestic flights from Heathrow on Monday to destinations such as Berlin, Dublin, Geneva, Paris, and Stockholm as well as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle.
The airline has been forced to trim its schedules until the end of May while it is hiring extra staff to cope with the surge in demand from passengers. Recruitment has been held up by delays in getting security clearance for new staff.
EasyJet cancelled at least 25 flights to or from Gatwick, affecting routes to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Milan.
The low-cost carrier said cancellations are being made “in advance to give customers the ability to rebook on to alternative flights”.
Meanwhile passengers at Gatwick Airport early on Monday morning faced delays at baggage reclaim with one arrival sharing an image of passengers sitting on the floor of the Sussex airport while waiting for their luggage.
4 hour flight and seems longer waiting for the luggage carousel to start! #Gatwick the worst airport? Certainly seems so to me 😭 pic.twitter.com/Dvqm6Kw68X
— Theo Kyriacou (@Thotos1) April 11, 2022
One wrote: “At Gatwick Airport, waiting for over an hour and a half for my luggage. DHL at Gatwick just keep apologising without action. Just get it done. This is not effective or efficient service.”
Another, Theo Kyriacou, sharing an image of people waiting at the baggage carousel late on Sunday night, wrote on Twitter: “Four hour flight and seems longer waiting for the luggage carousel to start! #Gatwick the worst airport? Certainly seems so to me.”
He later added: “An hour and a half since we landed and still no luggage to been seen anywhere.”
Another person wrote: “3 people at passport control and just been told there’s a 3 hour wait to reclaim baggage! What a shambles.”
The latest disruption came as Heathrow said March was its busiest month since the start of the pandemic with 4.2 million passengers using the west London airport, up more than eight-fold on the same month last year.
@Gatwick_Airport who’s in charge at Gatwick. 3 people at passport control and just been told there’s a 3 hour wait to reclaim baggage!!!!!! What a shambles. It’s not like these planes have just turned up unannounced.
— john thumb (@johnthumb4) April 11, 2022
The airport is recruiting 12,000 staff to cope with a summer season that is expected to match 2019 peaks on the busiest days.
A spokesperson said: “The aviation sector has been rebuilding capacity ahead of a summer peak, so resources are stretched.
“Heathrow is working closely with airlines and ground handlers to make sure this increase in demand can be met while keeping passengers safe. Half of global markets still require covid checks including testing, vaccination status and quarantine, which is causing particular congestion in check-in areas at peak times. Heathrow is advising passengers to check with their airline to confirm when they should get to the airport.
“Other airport processes are currently working to plan and Heathrow is working with Border Force to ensure sufficient levels of resource are in place to cope with the large number of passengers returning to the UK over the next couple of weeks.”
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “It is fantastic to see the airport coming back to life after two years, and I want to thank all Team Heathrow colleagues for working together to serve our passengers. Everyone at Heathrow is doing everything we can to make sure passengers get on their way as smoothly and safely as possible.”
Meanwhile ferry passengers heading to Calais continued to face long delays on Monday morning while P&O crossings remained suspended following the row over its sacking of nearly 800 staff.
Rival operator DFDS, which is providing space on its ferries for passengers booked with P&O, warned of 90 minute delays on its services this morning . Queues on the M20 motorway in Kent stretched for more than 20 miles over the weekend as thousands of trucks lined up to enter the port.
P&O Ferries ships will not sail from Dover to Calais until at least Thursday.
The RAC warned of motorway gridlocks over the coming four day weekend as a record 21.5 million drivers prepared to take to the roads, the most since the motoring organisation began tracking motorists’ Easter plans in 2014.
Good Friday is set to be the busiest day, with 4.62 million trips planned, followed by Easter Monday, when just under 4 million drivers are expected to be out and about.
A further 7.2 million will travel on Saturday and Sunday, with another 5.6 million not yet decided on which day they will set off.
Traffic information supplier Inrix, said likely congestion hotspots included.: The M6 north between Junction 26 (Orrell Interchange, Greater Manchester) and Junction 36 (the Lake District), The M25 clockwise from Junction 8 (Reigate Hill Interchange, Surrey) to Junction 16 (Denham Interchange, Buckinghamshire) and The A303 near Stonehenge, Wiltshire.
