This summer a catalogue of human-made and natural disasters has wreaked havoc with the nation’s travel plans, with last month’s UK air traffic control meltdown – which caused more than 2,000 flights to be axed – the coup de grace.
Last year’s chaos was a hard act to follow after ground staff shortages led to the cancellation of thousands of flights. Yet 2023 obliged and, over the past few months, Britons have experienced cancellations and delays caused by extreme weather at home and abroad as well as strike action in other countries, among other problems.
