Heartbroken families looking forward to a half-term getaway found their dreams shattered today as continuing travel mayhem at airports wrecked their plans.
And as tearful kids lost out on their first trip abroad and relatives missed weddings of loved ones, Brits faced a grim warning of “a summer of chaos” if the industry failed to act now.
Union Unite which represents tens of thousands of aviation workers said holidaymakers were paying the price for “chronic staff shortages” caused by job cuts during the pandemic.
And as Britain’s major airports became scenes of half-term hell, Unite said unless airline and airport bosses resolved the crisis ahead of July, the “chaos will last the entire summer season”.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “During the pandemic, when airline operators and others in aviation slashed jobs to boost corporate profits, we warned this corporate greed would cause chaos in the industry.
“The aftermath of mass sackings is now chronic staff shortages across the board. Aviation chiefs need to come clean with the public. This is a crisis of their making.
“We are determined that workers will not pay for this crisis. Current pay and conditions in the industry are so poor that workers are voting with their feet. It can only be resolved by offering higher wages and better working conditions for staff. Unite is utterly determined to fight for that.”
Her words came as easyJet and package holiday giant Tui axed a raft of flights and BA told passengers not only to drop baggage a day before their flight but also to shell out for an overnight stay close to the airport.
Travellers at Manchester, Bristol, Gatwick and Stansted airports were the hardest hit by Manic Monday and faced massive queues which started at 4am at Bristol and snaked outside the terminal with more fed up travellers jam packed inside.
The airport was likened to a “zoo” while there was misery at Gatwick too with lengthy lines forming from 5am with those desperate to have a break.
And those hoping to head out of Manchester airport were not spared travel woes as check-in queues started at dawn with most for the Tui desk.
Devastated Kim McManus, 40, from Widnes, Cheshire should have been carefree boarding a plane from Manchester to Turkey with her five-year-old daughter Autumn for the youngster’s first ever trip abroad.
But smiles quickly turned to tears when the pair were told their longed for Tui holiday had been cancelled after an overbooking blunder which then led to cabin crew going over their allotted hours as they tried to sort out the mess.
In the time it took to try and find volunteers to be bumped off the flight, the crew were timed out and the plane grounded, leaving little Autumn inconsolable.
Kim, who had also been looking forward to her first holiday in seven years said: “It was so cruel - it broke my heart. I was crying to my own mum.”
Hopeful holidaymakers left in limbo also found shops and cafes stripped bare of food and drink following a hectic weekend.
One fed up passenger tweeted:" It’s chaos @manairport. Sat on the floor and all the food places are either shut or hours of a wait Happy #holiday everyone
We have at least a 3 hour delay.”
There was similar heartbreak at London’s Stansted airport where a Tui holiday to Cyprus was cancelled leaving families mopping up children’s tears as they were excitedly about to board.
Anna Saunders, 41, splashed out £5,200 for a week’s getaway to Paphos last October with her husband Matthew, 44, and two children Eva aged 13 and 10-year-old Jack.
The property manager of Bedfordshire said “My kids were heartbroken. Explaining to a child that they’re not going on holiday after going through the airport is pretty tough.
“It wasn’t what we expected. They must have known they couldn’t do the holiday.
“To not tell us the flight was cancelled until we got to the airport is just disgusting.”
The family is now going to stay in a friend’s caravan in Norfolk with little comfort in Tui’s full refund, compensation worth £350 per person and a holiday voucher worth £200 per person.
Gatwick’s South Terminal struggled amid delays for those travelling with budget airline Vueling and a Wizz Air cancellation, although pressure had eased at North Terminal.
Furious Vueling passenger Ross Bryant, 31, from London told how he was booted off a flight to Rome because it was overbooked.
He said: “It’s shocking. I even got kicked off the last flight because they overbooked it. Four people didn’t get let on the flight.”
Alan Black of Havant in Hampshire, missed his nephew’s wedding in Seville after easyJet cancelled the flight from Gatwick as he and his wife waited at the boarding gate.
He said: “We tried very hard to get an alternative flight but as you can imagine everyone else has been trying to do the same,”
And there were similar problems for families trying to get back to the UK after a break with cancellations throwing work plans into chaos.
Glenda and Stephen Powell were still hoping to get back to Bristol on a wing and a prayer last night (Mon) with their two young children after two cancellations by Tui at Paphos.
The Avon and Somerset police officers slated the situation as “an absolute joke” and said even if their flight did take off, they were headed for Manchester and would then have to board a coach to get back to Bristol.
Mrs Powell, 40,said she would only believe the family was finally on the way home when “we have lift off”.
Consumer watchdog Which? blamed “woeful” understaffing after Covid restrictions were lifted and demanded an immediate response from the Government and airlines.
Which? travel editor Rory Boland said: ““There really can be no excuse for a repeat of these failings this summer.
“Unacceptably long queues and widespread chaos at airports are causing huge amounts of stress to those who have planned to get away this half-term and bank holiday weekend.
“The situation requires an immediate response and the Government must work with airlines and airports to ensure they have the resources and capacity to put an end to the last-minute flight cancellations and disruption we are seeing.
“When their flight is cancelled, all most passengers want is to be put on another plane and taken to their destination. The Civil Aviation Authority should remind airlines of their duty to offer passengers the option of rebooking on any reasonable route as quickly as possible - even if that means using other carriers. Too often this legal requirement is not being met.”
Unite blamed the aviation industry for the holidaymakers’ plight and travel expert John Strickland said it would take time for airlines to solve their staffing shortages.
Independent air transport consultant Mr Strickland told the BBC ’s Today programme: “It’s a structural challenge for the industry pretty much globally, to get back to (full) manpower levels.
“The level of pay on many of these frontline jobs that are so important to airlines, whether its security search, or check-in or baggage loading and so on, have always been pretty low. They’re becoming less competitive now against other industries.
“Many of these jobs are physically and mentally demanding and so regardless of the pay, that pressure of day-to-day, dealing with the strain and getting the kick-back from passengers that are unhappy, means that it is going to be a structural question for the industry for the future.”
Yesterday (Mon) the apologies from airlines and airports came thick and fast with Tui, easyJet and Vueling all offering explanations.
Easyjet said a “rare cancellation” might take place without warning, due to “a live operational issue on that specific flight”.
Tui said: “While flight delays and cancellations with us are rare, unfortunately the sudden increase in people going on holidays combined with various operational and supply chain issues, has meant that a small number of our flights have been impacted.
“We continue to work closely with our airport partners to monitor the situation and provide the best possible holiday experience for our customers. We’d like to thank them for their patience and understanding at this time.”
Vueling said: “We always strive to offer a timely service, however, if this isn’t possible our priority is to organise the best alternatives for our customers.”
Manchester Airport said in a statement that airlines and their ground handlers were experiencing “challenges” that were “leading to delays at check-in and baggage reclaim for some passengers”.
It added: “This is not the experience we want passengers to have at Manchester Airport and we are sorry to hear customers have faced disruption.”
Bristol airport said it had “fallen short this morning” but added it was “working hard to ensure all customers have a smooth and easy journey through the terminal”.
And Gatwick airport said there had been some difficulties but “not to the extent of the disruption that has been reported”.
And problems also hit Dover with reported delays of up to four hours blamed on a shortage of open French border control booths.
To add to the nation’s travel woes, the RAC has warned of gridlock on the roads during the Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday with almost 20 million cars on the move between Wednesday and Sunday.
