EasyJet are expecting to cancel another 60 flights on Tuesday as Easter holiday travel chaos continues.
Heathrow Express was also forced to cancel two services after a person was struck by a trains about 5am on Tuesday at the west London airport.
Manchester and London Heathrow airports have seen widespread delays over the past three days as airlines are hit by Covid-related staff shortages leading to hundreds of flights being grounded.
The travel disruption is affecting many families heading abroad for the Easter school holidays–the first since the UK’s coronavirus restrictions for international travellers were dropped.
Large queues were already forming at 6am at Heathrow as frustrated passengers took to social media to vent.
A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said they couldn’t predict how long queues would last as passenger numbers continue to rise.
EasyJet cancelled 62 flights scheduled for Monday, after axing at least 222 flights across Saturday and Sunday.
Some holidaymakers reported being stuck abroad with no explanation or alternative route home offered by the airline.
A spokesman for the airline 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.”
The airline attempted to limit the impact on passengers by focusing cancellations on routes with multiple daily flights.
The spokesman added that the number of cancellations “represents a small proportion” of the total of 1,645 planned for Monday.
British Airways cancelled at least 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport on Monday, although it is understood that only a handful were last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages.
The total includes many flights axed due to the airline’s decision to reduce its schedule until the end of May due to rising coronavirus cases.
It also suffered chaos on March 30 as flights were cancelled due to an IT meltdown.
The airline said: “Aviation has been one of the industries worst hit by the pandemic, and airlines and airports are experiencing the same issues rebuilding their operations while managing the continuing impact of Covid.”
