Industry experts have warned Britain’s nightmare travel disruptions at airports could lead to a summer of chaos as a solution could take up to six months.
Holidaymakers hoping to get away with their families for the Easter holidays have faced long delays in recent weeks, with some queues stretching five hours.
The issues have been sparked by airports having staffing shortages in the face of a surge of people wanting to get abroad - many for the first time since the pandemic.
An insider said the problems could stretch into the summer holidays as the process of vetting new staff can take six months.
The process usually takes up to 15 weeks, but extra demand has caused delays.
The insider told The Times : “The process is cripplingly slow. Aviation was one of the hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic, suffered from a lack of targeted support, and is now facing a summer disrupted by the government being slow in vetting staff.”
A government source denied the claims.
Travel firms are said to be at their busiest since the beginning of the pandemic with nearly 4.2million passengers going through Heathrow last month, 35% down on the 6.5million in March 2019.
It comes amid warnings Brits could face pandemonium on the roads this Easter, with the RAC warning motorways will be the busiest in eight years.
It predicts 21.5 million leisure trips will be made by car between Good Friday and Easter Monday – the most since the service began tracking motorists’ Easter plans in 2014.
RAC traffic spokesman Rod Dennis said: “After two years of relatively quiet Easter bank holidays, our research suggests a return to traffic levels that are much more typical of this time of year.
“It’s very possible this weekend could turn out to be one of the busiest for many years.
“Add in the impact of disruption on the rail network and one of the biggest fixtures of the sporting calendar, and you’ve all the ingredients needed for problems."
Mr Dennis urged those drivers who must travel to make sure vehicles are prepared.
“This is even more important for anyone travelling longer distances than they have for several months,” he said.
“A breakdown is much less likely if a car’s oil and coolant levels, as well as tyre pressure and tread depth, have all been checked before setting out.”
A quadfecta or staff shortages, industrial action, maintenance and FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley will mean roads as well as airports and seaports will all be packed.
The Daily Mail reports emergency plans are now being drawn up to allow Brits seeking an Easter getaway to dodge the looming travel chaos.
Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Service Union was reported to have said backroom staff who usually carry out checks on prohibited items at airports were being offered bonuses to man the desks at Heathrow.
She said: "There's the potential for significant problems at the tail-end of this week and at the weekend and planning has already started. We're bringing staff down from Scotland and Northern Ireland to Heathrow.
"They get expenses and overtime and they're being offered a cash bonus for each shift they cover at Heathrow. Some passengers will sail through, but others could be looking at several hours in a queue. It won't be chaos universally but there will be patches."
