The aviation industry is facing a tough period as almost 290,000 seats were cut from bank holiday flight schedules. Cirium, a data company, said around 900 flights due to depart from UK airports between Friday and Tuesday have been removed from schedules since the start of July.
A lot of the cancellations were a result of staff shortages across the aviation industry, which has led to caps on operations at airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick. This has disrupted the plans of millions of holidaymakers this summer and sparked a spike in air fares, reports the Liverpool Echo.
One airline to speak out is TUI, which operates short-haul and long-haul flights across the UK. The company apologised to passengers who experienced flight delays while also asking holidaymakers to not arrive to the airport too early.
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In a statement TUI said: "We would like to apologise to some of our customers who have experienced flight delays recently. As the UK’s biggest holiday company, our priority is to take customers on holiday safely. We continue to work closely with our airport partners to monitor the situation and continue to provide the best possible holiday experience for our customers.
"We are doing everything we can to limit any flight delays, which can happen from time to time for various operational reasons. On the rare occasion flight delays do take place, we will do everything we can to support our customers, through direct communications and providing overnight accommodation and transfers where needed, as well as meals and refreshments."
They continued: "We’d like to remind customers not to arrive at the airport too far in advance of their flight, as this can contribute to terminal queueing delays. Standard check-in opens at least two-and-a-half hours before departure time for short and mid-haul flights, and at least three and a half hours before departure for long-haul flights. At some airports, we are able to offer day before bag drop and self-service bag drop."
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