Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Sophie Buchan

EasyJet warn of further cancellations this week amid a rise in Covid staff cases

Travellers are being warned to leave in plenty of time and keep and eye on their flights this week ongoing amid airport chaos.

In the past few days, British Airways (BA) and easyJet have both come under fie for cancelling hundreds of flights with some passengers being given just hours notice leaving some stranded.

The news comes as Edinburgh Airport warned customers to prepare for delays amid the influx of Eater holidaymakers combined with staff shortages and flight cancellations.

READ MORE - M&S shoppers 'need' new Easter version of Colin the Caterpillar cake

Long queues were seen winding through Edinburgh Airport yesterday as travellers were eager to jet off for a much needed break but things came to a stand still with long waits at security.

But now with holidaymakers have been issues a fresh warning following yesterday's cancellations with easyJet telling customers they should expect more flight cancellations amid ongoing staff shortages.

More than 1,000 UK flights have been axed in recent days due to a rise in coronavirus cases with industry experts stating airlines and airports are struggling due to the job cuts during the height of the pandemic at a time where international flights were grounded.

Around 60 flights were said to have been cancelled today (April 5) with staff sickness levels around double normal levels.

A spokeswoman for easyJet said: "EasyJet will operate the vast majority of its 1,525 flights today with a small proportion cancelled in advance to give customers the ability to rebook on to alternative flights. We are sorry for any inconvenience for affected customers."

After cancelling yet more flights, the budget airline said they may need to make "similar levels of pre-emptive cancellations over the coming days due to the ongoing high level of sickness" but stressed that they are trying to focus on "consolidating flights where we have multiple frequencies so customers have more options to rebook their travel, often on the same day."

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: "This is a staggering level of flight cancellations caused by a cocktail of not having enough staff in place and Covid-induced staff shortages.

"Airlines are certainly seeing a high level of demand to fly, but are simply unable to cope with that demand due to a lack of resources. It’s a nightmare situation for airlines and airports at the moment."

You can check the status of your easyJet flight on their flight tracker here. In order to do this, you will need your flight number or the destinations that you're travelling between. The tracker only displays flights up until two days prior. If passengers want to see further ahead, they should log on to the easyJet website with their login and check their flight at 'Manage Bookings'.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.