Chaos-hit airports face the biggest test since before the Covid crisis struck as the great summer getaway begins.
While some schools have broken up already, for most it will be the end of this week.
Millions of holidaymakers will be heading off by air, sea, by train or road.
But after shambolic scenes at airports in recent months, more rail strikes planned and fuel prices near record high, some families will be fearing the journeys ahead - and at what price.
Of most concern is airports after chronic staff shortages led to thousands of flight cancellations - some at the last moment.
One industry insider admitted the next few weeks were likely to be “bumpy”.
Travel expert Paul Charles warned people to expect longer queues than normal over the next 10 days.
But he added: “I don’t think we will have a re-run of Easter and the Jubilee weekend”, when some airports suffered gridlock.
Andrew Flintham, managing director, TUI, Britain’s biggest tour operator, said, “We’re confident we’ve taken all the steps we can to ensure our customers can get away on holiday as planned this summer,” adding it had hired extra staff and out five spare aircraft on standby,
Yet despite the cautious optimism, the Mirror can reveal aviation staff are working up to 90 hours a week.
Some are to be offered bodycams in a bid to protect them against attacks from irate delayed passengers.
Desperate bosses are offering exhausted baggage handlers up to £320 extra a day as bonus overtime - which the Unite union says many are accepting, despite burnout fears, to meet the soaring cost of living.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “The aviation sector is being held together by the sticking plaster of workers undertaking excessive amounts of overtime.
“This is simply not sustainable.”
Airports such as Heathrow are offering up to £100 extra in overtime payments per day to security staff.
t has already limited passengers to 100,000 a day and airlines like British Airways have cut more than one in ten of its flights through to October.
One Gatwick Airport worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told us that he was involved into violent incidents at work twice in two days last week.
One verbally and physically abusive passanger tried to force his way past him onto a plane, sending him and a colleague flying.
The following day he helped break up fight broke out between two passengers which left one of them bleeding from the head.
Long queues have already started to form at the Port of Dover.
Ferry operators warned passengers to expect delays of several hours at the border.
DFDS wrote: “Please allow three hours to complete the check-in process and border controls at the port.”
P&O Ferries stated: “There are major queues (approximately two hours) at border controls in Dover.”
It comes a wave of planned strikes on the railway during a threatened “summer of discontent”.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) workers union has already confirmed three further strike dates - July 27, then August 18 and 20 - in a row over pay and job security.
Breathe... it'll be bearable
- Comment, by Nigel Thompson, Daily Mirror travel editor
If I had a pound for every time I’ve been asked what airports are going to be like for the summer holidays, I’d probably be writing this from the Cayman Islands.
So, cards on the travel table, I think it’s going to be very busy (obviously), there will inevitably be some hitches but overall it will be bearable and families will get away on their much-needed trips after two summers of Covid misery.
The very welcome news is that airports and airlines have reacted to the chaos. For example, Gatwick has taken on 400 new security staff to help ease queues, easyJet has hired 350 more call centre workers and Tui is placing five planes on standby instead of two.
So what can you do to help yourself? Number one for me is to be savvy at security with your hand luggage liquids – it’s a 100ml limit and put them in a separate clear bag.
And do pop a Bluetooth tracker in your hold luggage, they cost from about £20 and link to your smartphone to tell you where your bag is within 250ft. A godsend, I never travel without one.
Deep breaths, best of luck and have a fabulous holiday when you get there.
