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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Charlotte Cox & Aaliyah Rugg

TUI cancels 186 flights from Manchester leaving customers in turmoil

TUI has cancelled almost 190 flights in June due to ongoing chaos at Manchester Airport.

The holiday operator said on Tuesday that the "sudden increase" in people going on holiday and supply chain issues had impacted a "small number of flights". It comes after weeks of chaos leaving passengers facing long queues at Manchester Airport and many delays.

The airline will cancel six flights a day, or 43 a week, from May 31 until June 30, Manchester Evening News reports. However, all other airports in the UK will continue to operate as normal.

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In a statement, TUI said: "We would like to apologise to our customers who have experienced flight delays and cancellations in recent days and understand that many of our customers have been looking forward to their holiday with us for a long time. Due to the amount of on-going disruption in our operation at Manchester Airport, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to cancel six flights a day (43 flights a week), from Tuesday, May 31, until Thursday, June 30.

"All other airports in the UK are planned to operate as normal. We understand how disappointing this will be for those impacted; however, we believe this is necessary to provide stability and a better customer service at Manchester Airport. We will continue to work closely with all our airport partners and suppliers so we can provide the best possible holiday experience for our customers."

All customers affected will receive a full refund for their holiday as well as an "extra gesture of goodwill" and will also receive information in the next 14 days on how to apply for compensation. They added: "We would like to reassure our customers that cancellations of this nature are extremely rare and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding."

A spokesman from Manchester Airport said: "Over the last few days TUI and its appointed ground handler, Swissport, have experienced significant challenges with their check-in and baggage reclaim operations at Manchester Airport. From extensive discussions with the TUI and Swissport management teams, it is clear that they are experiencing temporary staff shortages, in common with other aviation and travel companies

"Given these challenges, we understand TUI’s difficult decision to cancel a number of services over the course of the next month, although we are obviously disappointed to see passengers’ plans disrupted in this way. We will continue to work with TUI, Swissport and other partners to give passengers the best possible service as the travel sector builds back to full strength after the pandemic.

"In the meantime, we continue to advise passengers to arrive three hours before their flight and to be as prepared as they can be for their journey through the airport."

It was previously reported that a mum was "abandoned" in Malaga with her 13-month-old baby after her TUI flight was delayed for 46 hours. Passengers have also reported being stranded at the airport and facing a cancellation via text at the airport departure gate.

Families and other passengers have reported facing long queues and delays at the airport as they try to jet off for half-term and before the upcoming Jubilee bank holiday. Flights have also been cancelled over the last week.

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