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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Mark Townsend

Minister was warned staff crisis would lead to ‘inevitable’ travel chaos, says aviation union

Passengers wait in long queues to pass through security checks at Heathrow airport last week.
Passengers wait in long queues to pass through security checks at Heathrow airport last week. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

The aviation minister was warned at the start of the year that the widespread flight chaos witnessed last week was “inevitable” and government intervention was urgently required to prevent such disruption, union sources say.

During a telephone call with aviation unions in late January, Robert Courts was told that the industry wouldn’t be able to cope with high demand unless it received help to offset chronic staff shortages.

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