Passengers arriving at Manchester Airport attempting to jet off on holiday say they've "never known it like this" after battling huge queues and reports there's not a staff member in sight.
When the Manchester Evening News visited the under fire airport's Terminal One this afternoon, we were met with absolute bedlam in the departures lounge. It was nearly impossible to identify the relevant check in desk due to the vast number of bemused travellers figuring out where to go.
Little could be heard amongst the loud chatter of stressed families questioning how long they'll be stuck, apart from a woman on the tannoy asking any passengers with flights in less than one hour to raise their hand. A few desperate hands appeared to rise up in the air as the panic on passengers faces started to subside.
READ MORE: Manchester Airport worker says he's quit his job 'in disgust over way it's being run'
Many travellers we spoke to had arrived at the airport hours before their flight was due to take off - having spotted the scenes on social media in recent days and weeks. The M.E.N has reported passengers missing flights due to long delays at security, and at the other end, people have even abandoned their luggage because they couldn't face waiting any longer.
And a shocking video emerged on Friday showing passengers jostling for space as they moved through security. It prompted concerns that 'someone will get hurt'.
Andrea Britland had travelled to the south Manchester airport from her home in Rossendale with her family. She arrived at the airport over five hours before her flight with Ryanair was due to depart for Ibiza this evening after seeing the queues on Facebook.
When we asked her what her experience had been like so far, she laughed. "I've never know it like this," she said. "We are not flying till 5.30pm and we arrived here about 12.30pm. We thought were being clever. We dropped the car off and it was fine but then we came up here and we were met with that.
Andrea pointed to the mass of people standing inside the terminal. "I just thought what is going on," she said. There's no staff just a sea of people. Everyone looks bewildered. Even airline staff look bemused. We've got nowhere near the check-in desk."
Mary Moore and June Wilcox decided to play it safe and arrived four hours before their flight at 5pm after hearing about how busy the airport has been. They said: "It's mayhem. We usually come two hours before but after seeing what it was like we thought we better leave early.
"We have done priority booking but it got thrown out of the window the other day when my daughter was here so who knows if that will work. There are a lot of people out there wanting jobs at the moment so the airport don't have an excuse for this."
Fay Brown arrived at the airport three hours before her flight to Turkey after being warned by friends, despite EasyJet informing her to get there two hours before. "I came in and walked straight back out," she said, referencing the queues in departures.
Ernie and Carole Dempster arrived several hours before their flight to Lisbon was due to leave only to be told they were too early for check-in and needed to come back in three hours time.
"We got here early because we thought it was a good idea," they said. We've been told to come back at 3pm. We've already paid £90 from Middlewich in a taxi - they are saying come back there is nowhere for us to go.
"It's very hard to find anyone to ask. We haven't been here in two and a half years but we've still never seen it like this. My nephew has gone from Liverpool Airport and got through in 30 minutes. We would definitely look at flying from elsewhere if it stays like this."
Chris Lunt had just arrived back at Manchester Airport after a trip to the US. He said his experience coming back into the UK had been fine but said he was met with huge queues on his way out.
"Last week it took two hours just to check in," he said. There were only two people on the check in desk. I've seen everything in the news and I thought I was going to be waiting ages for my bag on the way home but luckily it was fine.
"I arrived more than two hours before my flight out there but you couldn't check in as it wasn't open yet. Then the plane was delayed because it was taking people so long to get through. I'll be going from Heathrow now. You just can't trust it."
Manchester Council leader Bev Craig, a board member at Manchester Airports Group, is understood to be meeting with airport bosses today. She did not respond to requests for comment but a council spokesperson said it would be 'inappropriate' for the council to speak on behalf of the other shareholders around the operational management of the airport.
In a statement on Monday, Manchester Airport said: "We apologise to passengers whose experience in recent days has fallen short of the standards we aim to deliver.
“We encourage passengers to arrive at the earliest time recommended by their airline, which is usually when check-in for their flight opens.
"Arriving earlier than that is not recommended, as passengers will not be able to check in and may add to congestion in the check-in hall.”
Bosses last month warned passengers could face queues for 'several weeks' after admitting they are struggling with staff shortages. Manchester Airports Group (MAG) said they have also struggled with the easing of restrictions as well as a large number of bags being rejected at security.
Manchester Airport's managing director Karen Smart said that getting back to full strength would 'take time' and over the next few weeks it may take 'longer than it should' to get through the airport.
"The extensive security checks and training for new security officers mean we've not been able to keep pace with the rapid growth in demand - but we are interviewing hundreds of candidates every week and new colleagues are coming into the operation every day," she added.
