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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Maisie Lillywhite

Bristol Airport: GMB's Simon Calder says Jubilee weekend at airports will 'not be much better' than current chaos

Travel expert Simon Calder has predicted that those travelling over the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend will face similar problems to those experienced at struggling airports last weekend. Bristol Airport is one of several airports across the country facing unrelenting queues, flight cancellations and delays, causing stress amongst passengers and staff.

Simon Calder, Good Morning Britain's in-house travel expert, has provided his thoughts on the chaos erupting at airports across the country. This weekend appeared to be a particularly bad one for those flying from Bristol Airport, with lots of families having their half-term breaks cancelled.

With travellers attempting to make the most of the four-day weekend by heading out on breaks this coming weekend, further issues are anticipated. Simon expects that things will calm down a bit at the nation's airports after half term, but will then pick up again in late June and July as Britons head out on their summer holidays.

Read more: Bristol Airport: Passengers report more delays and queues this morning

Speaking to Good Morning Britain presenters Richard Madeley and Charlotte Hawkins, Simon said: "I'm afraid that I don't think that the coming weekend is going to be much better than the last weekend. They do not have enough staff at the airport and indeed on the airlines to run the services that people have quite understandably booked because they wanted their holiday."

Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester are a few other airports that have faced chaos over the past several weeks. One passenger at Bristol Airport, according to Good Morning Britain reporter Nitya Rajan, was not able to get hold of food at 5.30am this morning.

Scenes at Bristol Airport security (Michael Potts)

Reporting live from the airport, Nitya said: "[Passengers] have come with pillows and duvets in tow prepared to wait for hours at the airport and their flight has been delayed. Some of the passengers I saw earlier this morning waiting to check-in are still waiting to check in because their flights have also been delayed with no reason given."

At 3am this morning, travellers were queueing beyond the doors of Bristol Airport as the rain poured down. Yesterday, a Bristol couple claimed that they had been stranded in Cyprus since Saturday (May 28) after TUI cancelled their flights back home.

Simon also believes that airport staff could strike as a result of the ongoing problems being experienced at the nation's airports. He said: "We just heard from the GMB union representing some ground staff at Heathrow.

"Overnight, the Unite union has said they are fed up with British Airways as well and they are going to start balloting a week today - that closes on June 27. And if they do vote in favour of strike action, the earliest it could take place, I calculate, is July 11, which is just getting before the peak time."

Let us know if you have experienced any issues at Bristol Airport by logging in and dropping a comment down below.

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