Throughout 2022, images of long queues, complaints of missing luggage, and reports of no food have come out of airports up and down the UK and on the Continent.
And, as the school summer holidays get underway, those reports are set to become more frequent. But not every holiday needs to be a disaster, according to one Manchester Airport worker.
They have shared their top tips with The Mirror on how to get ahead and have a smooth time jetting off, on the condition they would stay anonymous. They admitted to feeling "extremely apprehensive" about the coming six weeks and how a short-staffed crew will deal with the pressure.
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However, they also revealed that there are some easy ways passengers can make the process that little bit easier for themselves - check out their advice below.
Have your bag ready for security
The biggest mistake passengers are still making is not having their bags ready for the scanners, which can have a much more significant knock on effect than people may realise.
"Make sure you're not got excessive creams, liquids and gels," the worker said, pointing out that stick deodorants and lipsticks counted as liquids.
"Listen to instructions from staff such as putting your liquids and laptops separate."
Don't try and chance it with bag limits
The staff member advises that you "make sure you don't have excess baggage when you're getting onto the plane".
Airlines have strict hand luggage rules and while it may be tempting to bring an extra bag and hope to get away with it, it's more likely you'll end up delaying the boarding process as bags need to be put into the hold.
Check your documents before you travel
Most countries have been easing their Covid travel rules, but plenty of destinations still have restrictions in place regarding vaccine requirements or Covid tests.
Make sure you arrive at the airport with all the documents you need as there's not much that staff can do to help if you don't have your paperwork in order.
"It's a cause of the delays," the worker told the Mirror. "People kick off at us, primarily because they don't have their Covid tests and vaccine certificates ready.
"When they haven't got what they need, it's always our fault, but it's their responsibility.
"It would be nice if they could be a bit more understanding. It's not our fault."
Don't arrive too early at the airport
Airlines have different rules on when you should arrive at the airport for your flight. Unfortunately with the travel chaos, unsurprisingly there are holidaymakers showing up hours early in the hope of making the flight if there are queues.
This causes a catch-22; too many people arrive early which means security and check-in queues become too long, people can miss flights, so others then don't want the same situation and show up early.
Manchester Airport has previously urged customers to arrive no earlier than three hours before departure for short-haul flights, but many passengers still ignore the warning.
"People do still turn up early," the airport worker said. "This morning we had someone there at half 7 who wasn't leaving until 2pm."
They went on to urge those concerned about missing their flights to resist the temptation to arrive too far ahead of time, saying they'd been pulled from the queue if their flight was about to leave.
"We try and pull them out of the queue if they've not checked in for their plane," they continued.
"We will get them out of there if we have staff available. Security go down the queue and do shout outs."
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