Fed-up passengers have labelled the growing chaos at Manchester Airport an "absolute disgrace" with mammoth queues and delays of several hours putting many at risk of missing flights.
Airport chiefs admitted this week the disruption may last for weeks, while putting the blame on staff shortages as families prepare to jet off for Easter holidays.
It comes after reports of frustrated travellers jumping over barriers and jostling for space in recent days.
Such behaviour has led to warnings that "someone will get hurt".
Passengers are being urged to arrive at the airport at the earliest possible time to allow for delays at security, after some passengers were subject to four-hour queues over the weekend.
Holidaymakers said last night they had "never known it like this" as they were met with mayhem in the departure lounge on top of huge security lines, long baggage delays and crowded check-in halls.
Have you been affected by airport delays this week? Let us know at webnews@mirror.co.uk
Steve Blears called the scenes "chaos", estimating he waited in a queue of around 1,000 people outside the airport at just before 5am today.
Once inside, he said there was "confusion with people unclear where to check in and where to queue".
Robert Whittaker said he waited over two hours in terminal 1, describing it as "peak chaos".
Another Twitter user said the airport was an "absolute disgrace", claiming security told him at just after 6am the "nightmares are going to make people miss flights".
Manchester Evening News reporter Lyell Tweed, on the ground at the airport, said a "board full of final calls would suggest there’s a lot of people delayed".
He said a constant stream of people in a "big rush" were coming through Terminals 1 and 3, "with some having missed flights".
Meanwhile, long queues were also reported at Birmingham Airport from 7.45am today, with one passenger warning others to 'get here early'.
Another traveller, Luka Beckett, said she was 'trapped' on a grounded plane for 40 minutes on Sunday due to a lack of staff.
She told Birmingham Live : "We should have been home at around 10pm, but got in sometime after midnight. It was horrific."
It comes as at least 60 easyJet flights have been cancelled.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: “EasyJet will operate the vast majority of its 1,525 flights today with a small proportion cancelled in advance to give customers the ability to rebook on to alternative flights.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience for affected customers.”
The Luton-based carrier warned it expects to make "similar levels of pre-emptive cancellations over the coming days, due to the ongoing high level of sickness".
British Airways has announced the cancellation of 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport.
According to the Cirium study, 382 of the cancelled flights were for travel over the weekend alone.
Commenting on the data, Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: "This is a staggering level of flight cancellations caused by a cocktail of not having enough staff in place and Covid-induced staff shortages.
"Airlines are certainly seeing a high level of demand to fly, but are simply unable to cope with that demand due to a lack of resources. It’s a nightmare situation for airlines and airports at the moment."
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said yesterday: ""We understand the frustrations of customers and other interested parties, but want to assure all concerned that we are working as hard as we can to tackle this issue and have put a number of short-term measures in place while colleague applications are being processed.
"This includes hiring temporary staff in the short-term and exploring ways in which existing employees can support the operation."
If you're due to travel this week, The Mirror has put together a guide on how to check if your flight is cancelled.
