A raging dad fumed that his child was forced to urinate in a plastic bag during a 'two-hour long' security queue at Manchester Airport. Fewer than half of 13 security bays were open in Terminal One on Tuesday afternoon, as Mark Meadows and his family were attempting to jet off to Berlin.
Following the long wait, his flight was eventually cancelled, and the family had to re-book for the following day, with budget airline easyJet reporting it was grounded owing to 'air traffic control delays'. Mr Meadows said: "Security didn't look so bad when we were arriving, at least it wasn't snaking outside. But, when we got in, it was a different story," reports the Manchester Evening News.
He added: "It was utter chaos. A lad was trying to help get people to the front who were risking missing flights but it wasn't exactly organised. My little boy also had to wee in a plastic bag in security as we waited so long and there was no chance of leaving for the toilets."
He said they finally managed to pass through security before the flight was cancelled. The parent claimed: "Manchester Airport didn't even bother flashing the cancellation on the screen, they just removed it completely.
"I then wandered around a few gates and found one with an angry queue and that was the one where a man was handing out instructions. I ran to the main lounge and alerted others to go to that gate for info. Then the easyJet email dropped about the cancellation."
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: “We apologise to any passengers in Terminal One who were affected by long waits at security yesterday afternoon. We are emerging from the most damaging two years in our history and, like several other UK airports, are facing resourcing challenges at present.
“Most passengers will get through security within 30 minutes, but on occasion security queue times will be higher than this, and so we are advising passengers to arrive at the airport three hours before their flight is due to depart. We have welcomed nearly 400 new starters into the operation so far this year, with a further 500 people going through security and background checks right now.”
An easyJet spokesperson added: “We are very sorry that flight EZY1895 from Manchester to Berlin was cancelled due to earlier Air Traffic Control delays which unfortunately meant the flight would not have arrived in Berlin before the airport curfew was imposed.
"We notified customers directly of their options to rebook or receive and refund and provided hotel accommodation and meals where required. Nonetheless we fully understand the disruption this will have caused to these customers’ plans and we are very sorry for this."
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