Major travel disruption is expected to continue this weekend as the Easter getaway begins. Flights are still being cancelled by airlines, while airports have warned travellers to expect lengthy queues for check-in and security.
Ferry operators are also struggling to meet demand after P&O suspended services with long queues of lorries stuck on roads approaching Dover. Meanwhile, transport secretary Grant Shapps has urged travel operators to step up their efforts to get people away with as little disruption as possible.
Travel operators are struggling with staff shortages and Covid-related absences, leading to long delays for passengers. Manchester Airport has warned passengers to expect queues of up to 90 minutes due to staff shortages.
Charlie Cornish, chief executive of owner Manchester Airports Group, urged departing travellers to arrive three hours before their flight to avoid missing it. British Airways and easyJet have recently cancelled a total of more than 100 daily flights, and passengers at Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham Airports have also complained of long queues.
Travel expert Simon Calder tweeted: "Today's flight cancellations: British Airways on 72 to/from Heathrow, including what seem to be late cancellations to Nice, Malaga and Athens. easyJet on 56, mostly to/from Gatwick, though Luton, Bristol, Manchester and Belfast International also affected.
"Most cancelled overseas destinations today: Amsterdam 4 Paris CDG and Nice 3 Berlin, Hamburg, Milan Malpensa 2"
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he warned the aviation sector to “be careful” about cutting jobs during the coronavirus pandemic as demand for travel would “come back again, and that’s what’s happening”. Asked about whether security checks for new recruits can be completed faster, he said: “We can’t take shortcuts on security and passengers wouldn’t want us to do that.
“Vetting and checking, particularly for people who are going airside, is absolutely critical. We do need to make sure that work is carried out properly. I know that the Home Office are expediting it as much as possible but no-one wants us to cut corners when it comes to their safety and security.”
Civil Aviation Authority chief executive Richard Moriarty has written to airline to stress it is “very important” they set schedules “on a basis that is deliverable given available staff”. He also wrote to airports, calling on them to “work closely with airlines” to ensure “disruption is kept to a minimum”.
Meanwhile at Dover, the suspension of P&O ferry services and bad weather have also caused problems, with ferry company DFDS reported delays of two hours on its services from Dover to Calais on Friday. A 23-mile stretch of road into Dover, the M20 Southbound, remains closed, with thousands of lorries being held and they try to reach the port.
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