Brits heading on holidays this half term have been hit by chaotic scenes at airports including hours-long queues, abandoned luggage at carousels, and missed flights.
At Bristol Airport, holidaymakers reported queues which stretched outside of the terminal, while in Manchester Airport customers reported waiting for over five hours to get their luggage back after a flight.
The havoc comes as Brits have been flocking on holidays for the May half term holiday and the Jubilee weekend.
Bristol Airport had warned it anticipated around 300,000 travellers to pass through the airport, with up to 30,000 customers flying on some days.
However, staff shortages due to Covid have left airports and airlines struggling to cope with the demand from holidaymakers.
Have you been hit by the delays and cancellations? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com.
It's one of the main reasons why airlines are cancelling flights, with the likes of TUI, BA and easyJet announcing cancellations and delays, sometimes at the last minute.
Airlines including TUI, easyJet and BA have been cancelling flights and holidays, sometimes at the last-minute.
So why are airports struggling to cope? The reasons are similar as to why airports crumbled at Easter, but the main issues tend to be around staffing and a surge of holidaymakers.
Staff shortages
While isolation is no longer a requirement in the UK, airlines and airports are being hit by shortages with staff illness, including people testing positive for Covid and staying home.
For airports, there are staff shortages across everyone from airport security staff to ground handlers, which in itself slows down the process and creates delays.
However, it's not just illness causing shortages.
The pandemic had devastating effects in travel as holidays were banned and strict entry rules were brought in at peak periods.
As a result, the aviation industry was forced to cut its workforces including cabin crew, pilots, ground handlers and other employees. This effect is still being felt now, even as companies push recruitment drives in a bid to cope with the renewed demand for holidays.
Surge of holidaymakers
Travel bans and strict entry rules have kept Brits at home for the last few years, so it's no surprise that holiday-starved UK travellers are flocking to sunnier shores. Most countries have been easing their travel rules - some have scrapped them altogether - while travel giants are offering up heaps of holiday deals to tempt back travellers.
Under-staffed airports and airlines are still struggling to cope with the demand - which results in longer queues and delays at the likes of airport security.
People arriving too early for flights
It's a Catch 22 situation; there are huge queues so people panic and arrive for flights much earlier than usual, which causes extra congestion and therefore leads to huge queues, and so on.
Now, it's absolutely not holidaymakers' fault that there is so much travel disruption; but travel firms are urging Brits not to arrive far too early for their flights.
TUI, BA, easyJet, Ryanair and more offer guidance on how early you should arrive for a flight, which is usually up to about three hours ahead.
Amidst the recent wave of flight delays, TUI issued a statement for passengers which included details on arrival times: "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."
Bristol Airport has also said that "Customers are advised not to arrive early as check-in and security may not be open – adding to the congestion".
Have you been affected by the travel chaos? Let us know in the comments below.
