Chaos at Manchester Airport is set to continue over the next months with airline bosses warning people of a "challenging" summer. Staff shortage and long queues at airport security have caused significant issues for travellers in the past few weeks and even resulted in holidaymakers missing their flights.
While Manchester Airport recently issued an update to say they were "on the road to recovery" Ryanair bosses have warned people to arrive in plenty of time. Chief executive Michael O’Leary has said getting through airports will be “challenging” this summer and that there are “pinch-points” at airports such as Heathrow and Manchester Airports, where he said “too many people” have been sacked.
“We would hope to see those pinch-points eliminated by the end of June in time for the peak summer period," he said. “But there’s no doubt getting through airports this summer is going to be challenging and we’re encouraging all of our customers to show up earlier to allow more time to get through airport security, particularly in Manchester.”
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At the moment, passengers are still asked to arrive three hours before their flight at Manchester Airport and are reminded to get to grips with security rules around hand luggage to speed up the process. However, the airport also urged customers to not arrive too early because this could lead to extra queues and worsen the situation.
More than 8,000 people are said to have applied for jobs at Manchester Airport and more than 1,000 new recruits have already been hired. Bosses have also reassured travellers that security waiting times are improving and fully reopened Terminal 3 to help cope with demand. Staff are also offered extra overtime payments and a 'Take Time, Take Care, Take Flight' campaign has been launched to help passengers flow through the terminals.
There are still roles to apply for at the airport and there are several recruitment events set to take place including an open day at the onsite Airport Academy on May 17. Staff from the airport will also be attending jobs fairs held in Stoke on Trent and Bolton.
