Travel disruption is likely to continue for several days in the run-up to the main Easter holiday weekend - but chaotic scenes at some of the UK's biggest airports appear to have eased. Many who had planned spring getaways have reported last-minute changes blamed by airlines and airports on staff shortages and Covid-related issues.
More than 100 flights a day were cancelled last week with easyJet and British Airways worst-hit. But by Saturday, the number had been reduced.
British Airways reported it had to cancel three flights overnight on top of its planned cancellations because of staff sickness. The airline recommended long-haul passengers arrive three hours before their flight, and short-haul passengers two hours.
EasyJet said it had cancelled around 40 flights in advance. It added on Saturday: "We will operate 1,422 flights today with a small proportion having been cancelled in advance to give customers the ability to rebook onto alternative flights."
However, officials at Manchester Airport anticipated long queues for check-in and security would continue for the foreseeable future with some passengers facing queues of 60 to 90 minutes. Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham airports have also been hit by delays and cancellations.
This morning Manchester Airport was reported to be busy but with passengers moving steadily through the airport. Longest queues appeared to be for passengers checking in with TUI, however travellers said operations seemed to be well-organised.
There was also lines of travellers waiting to check-in with Virgin Atlantic and Turkish airline Pegasus. While passengers waited patiently to drop their baggage, others stated they had sailed through security where the worst problems were encountered ahead of the weekend. Some passengers had said it had taken five hours from arrival at the airport before reaching the boarding gate for their flight at the height of the problems.
Meanwhile, Birmingham Airport bosses said they would draft in support staff to help cope with an anticipated weekend surge in demand. The airport is expecting to welcome more than 400,000 customers over the Easter fortnight, with the most popular destinations including Dublin, Dubai, Amsterdam, Malaga and Tenerife. There are plans to deploy colleagues in support roles to the terminal building throughout this weekend to help make sure customers are prepared with compliant baggage before entering the security area.
Airport chief executive Nick Barton speaking on radio said: "In terms of staff at the weekends, we will have enough people for the passengers coming through. We're handling around 25,000 people a day.
"To give you context of what that feels like, we would in a very busy summer period probably handle 35,000 to 38,000, so by comparison to that, it's not as great. But the key issue here, like all industry players are seeing, is getting the staff in, trained and security cleared.
"That is really the big issue we've all had. It was only since the start of February did the rules and regulations come off enough for us to actually start thinking we might have a summer."
Heathrow Airport has also issued guidance for passengers, advising them to arrive no more than three hours before their flight is set to depart. A spokesperson said: “The Easter holiday is the first time where UK travel restrictions have been fully removed since the start of the pandemic and we are expecting passenger numbers, not seen since early March 2020. Like most airports we have been preparing for this for many months, but we do anticipate that the travel experience may take slightly longer during peak periods.
"We are deploying extra colleagues across Heathrow, and we continue to work closely with all our airport partners to help ensure passengers get away as efficiently as possible.”
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