Fuming passengers have been hit by a second wave of delays at Manchester Airport where firefighters are helping to tackle mammoth queues.
Fire crew have been asked to work on the baggage belts and travellers complained of "massive" lines at security that took hours to get through, it has been claimed.
Queues at check-in desks were described as "beyond a joke" causing some people to miss their flights and leaving others in tears on Monday.
It marked the second day of delays at the international hub amid staff shortages which saw some passengers stuck on the runway for two-and-a-half hours.
One airport worker told the Manchester Evening News : “It’s been so bad that they have been asking firefighters, engineers and parking staff to offload the bags onto the conveyors in the arrivals hall.
“I think the summer is going to be horrendous, at this rate we just won’t have the staff, and morale is already low.
"I just hope that we get the staff we need in time and get back to normal."
One woman said her flight to Gran Canaria with TUI departed more than two hours late due to delays getting the baggage on the plane.
Kathleen Moorland said she was still sitting on the plane on the runway at 12.45pm, when it was meant to be departing at 10.10am.
She added that there were delays getting through queues at the airport, despite arriving more than three hours before her flight.
Kathleen said: "TUI and Manchester Airport, a total farce and joke.
"All you want is an easy start to your holiday - not the total chaos that there is."
Julia Teale tweeted: "@manairport. You really need to sort your staffing issues.
"Just witnessed people missing flights who have been here three hours but security was so disorganised it’s taking hours to get through.
"If it’s like this in March what will it be like in high season. Not enough staff."
Martijn van der Voort also tweeted: "When will @manairport @AndyBurnhamGM @ManCityCouncil grasp that the airport is one of the worst in the world?
"From rude security staff to long queues to poor infrastructure and parking.
"Truly terrible airport and I have been to many across the globe."
On Sunday, passengers were also faced with "ridiculous" two-hour queues amid a workforce shortage, sparking fears of more chaos for passengers in the busy summer ahead.
It is estimated that more than 2,000 redundancies were made at Manchester Airport as the aviation sector was savaged by the pandemic.
This included around 700 workers employed directly by the hub and more than 1,500 by outside employers like baggage handling agents and airlines.
Now travel restrictions are lifting, passenger numbers are on the rise and plans to reopen Terminal 3 are also in the pipeline.
But questions have been raised as to whether the workforce can meet demand in what Manchester Airport bosses have described as an "extremely challenging" labour market.
Airport bosses apologised over long delays and "horrendous" queues at passport control on Friday.
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said queues on both days were due to "a greater number of passengers than expected."
Passengers have been urged to get to the airport at least three hours before their scheduled flight time.
A spokesperson for Swissport, which handles baggage for TUI, said: “We would like to apologise to those passengers who experienced baggage delays at Manchester Airport following an aircraft change which impacted our resource allocation.
"We have worked with our airport partners to remedy the delays and normal service has resumed."
The Mirror Online has contacted Manchester Airport for further comment.
