The head of Ryanair has warned today that chaos at major British airports will continue “during the summer” amid scenes of chaos at Manchester and Heathrow.
Michael O’Leary has claimed that Covid’s government blockades and general “mismanagement” forced airport chiefs to impose massive layoffs that led to staff shortages now affecting air traffic control, the luggage handling and security.
“This problem will continue especially at airports like Gatwick and Heathrow throughout the summer. It will be worse on weekends and better during the week,” he told Sky News.
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Warning that passengers should be prepared for a “less than satisfactory experience” in the coming months, O’Leary said 25% of Ryanair flights were delayed last weekend due to traffic control problems and 15% more for airports that handled delays.
He added that Brexit has exacerbated disruption as demand has risen following the lifting of pandemic restrictions, and airports cannot hire foreign workers to fill jobs.
Dozens of tourists were photographed fighting in massive queues in Manchester this morning, while Heathrow flyers complained of the “obvious baggage chaos” gripping central west London.
Heathrow and Gatwick have called on airlines to cancel thousands of flights this summer as they struggle to regain control, while easyJet began removing 10,000 flights to European holiday destinations, such as Greece, Italy and Spain, in July. in September.
It comes after the former head of British Airways said that Heathrow “is not able to deliver the commodity they have to deliver”.
At the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Doha, its general manager Willie Walsh said about Heathrow, Schiphol in Amsterdam and Dublin: “It is interesting that the three airports I mention in terms of significant increases in rates are also the three that have experienced the most disruptions in recent weeks.
“It simply came to our notice then. I will continue to call on these airports to put their actions in order. ”
EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said he was “disappointed” that Gatwick could not offer its full space schedule.
He added: “We support some airports to proactively go out and limit numbers because they have something we don’t have: visibility into the whole operation.
“They’re better equipped to judge the difficulties around air traffic control, ground operators, etc. Of course, it’s disappointing, but we still prefer them to be realistic about what they can offer so we can adjust to that.”
Dozens of tourists are fighting massive queues at Manchester Airport this morning
Twitter users today complained about the “chaos of test luggage” at Heathrow Airport
Hundreds of passengers passed through Manchester Terminal 2 as they left their luggage today
Travelers today tweeted images of more luggage chaos at Heathrow Airport
More travelers are seen queuing in Manchester today as chaos engulfs major British airports
Passengers “have been without food or water for 11 hours” after Jet2 flight back from Palma was scrapped
Two women say they ran out of food and water for 11 hours while stranded in Palma after their Jet2 flight back to Manchester was abandoned.
Sale’s Nyomi Loftus and her friend Megan Sainsbury were due to return home from Palma Airport on Saturday, and arrived early for their Jet2 flight at 11.25pm.
However, the flight was delayed and they finally received an update at 3.50am which revealed that a confusion with the luggage caused Jet2 to “lose its slot for flying”.
Ms Loftus, 36, said 70 bottles of water were shared with some 380 passengers before arrangements were made for the hotels.
He told the Manchester Evening News: “The worst thing was that they called the names of 30 or 40 passengers and told them to go to a special place so we could go to an adult-only hotel. We had to pay for the hotel. Families with babies were on the floor.
“In any case, the hotel ended up being a family hotel; they could have gone. They told us there was a mess with the luggage and that they had counted badly. ‘l and then they lost the slot to fly because the staff needed a break – no one could get any details from anyone.
He added: “There was a girl sitting near us at the airport who was sick because she was crying a lot. People were walking around trying to find out what was going on. It was an absolute commotion, it was a bit of a disaster.
Miss Loftus and Miss Sainsbury had to pay for a taxi to their hotel 40 minutes from the airport, at a cost of € 65. The couple was finally returned home almost 24 hours later and said the first food and drink was given at the hotel at 7.30am, eight hours after the departure of the flight and 11 hours after they arrived at the hotel. airport.
A Jet2 spokesman said: “We would like to apologize once again to the customers affected by this delay. Our teams have worked tirelessly to take care of everyone, but unfortunately last night there was a shortage of accommodation in Mallorca. We notified customers immediately by text message that they would reimburse anyone who had to book hotels separately and we did our best to take care of everyone.All remaining guests will be taken home this evening.
The budget airline had planned to operate about 160,000 flights during this period. In May, the company expected to operate around 97 percent of 2019 levels over the three-month period.
But the elimination means that this has been reduced by about 90%, suggesting that more than 10,000 flights will be eliminated. This means that up to 1.5 million passengers will be affected by the removal. Affected people will be re-booked on alternative flights on the same day, with a rival carrier if necessary. Gatwick Airport planes will be the hardest hit.
EasyJet, TUI and Wizz Air have already canceled hundreds of flights during and after the mid-term holidays.
As a result, thousands of passengers were stranded abroad for the medium term, often waiting several days before receiving another flight home.
This meant that workers missed work after the busy holiday period and students lost classes.
With fewer seats available this summer, tourists could see an increase in fares if they have not yet booked tickets.
Announcing the elimination of the flight yesterday, the head of easyJet, Mr. Lundgren said: “Providing safe and reliable operation for our customers in this challenging environment is EasyJet’s top priority and we regret that some customers have not been able to provide the service they have received.
“Along with airport boundaries, we are taking preventative action to increase resilience during the summer balance sheet, including a number of additional flight consolidations at the affected airports.
“We believe this is the right action we need to take so that we can deliver to all of our customers during the peak summer period in this challenging environment.”
When asked, he said he could not make a figure on the proportion of flights that had to be eliminated, adding: “It would be misleading for me to give any figures today because we just don’t know.”
He insisted that the overwhelming “majority” of customers will not be affected and said the removal was also in response to the limits introduced on flights from Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol airports.
An easyJet trade update released yesterday stated that “there will be an impact on disruption costs, along with the improved resilience that easyJet is launching this summer, from additional wet-leased aircraft, costs airport crew and expenses “. Therefore, we will exceed the operating CASK provided above [Cost for Available Seat Kilometres] former fuel guide. We believe these capacity / cost impacts are unique this summer, as we expect all parties to develop greater resilience in time for the peak periods of 2023. ”
Wet leasing agreements are between airlines where the aircraft is operated under the part of which it is leased. For example, British Airways has leased four manned FinnAir aircraft to run BA flights.
It came when Heathrow yesterday urged airlines to reduce flights to Terminals 2 and 3 by 10% after a problem with their baggage handling systems.
Over the weekend, passengers posted images on social media of a mountain of luggage after the Terminal 2 handling system suffered a major malfunction.
The problem was resolved on Sunday night, but it may be several days before passengers gather with their luggage.
The request to the airlines to reschedule the flights was for advice only, but it would have affected up to 15,000 if it had been implemented. According to FlightAware, 26 departures and 13 arrivals at the airport were canceled yesterday.
A Heathrow spokesman said he apologized “unreservedly”.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel said: “EasyJet has caused chaos and distress to passengers for several weeks with a steady stream of last minute cancellations.
HEATHROW AIRPORT: Lots of luggage photographed riding outside Terminal 2 on Sunday
STANSTED AIRPORT: Chaos continues at Stansted Airport in Essex yesterday with passengers sleeping on the floors
A pregnant woman was stranded in Lanzarote for 17 hours after TUI “told her there was no room left to fly home.”
A seven-month-pregnant woman was stranded in Lanzarote for more than 17 hours after TUI allegedly told her there was no room left for her flight home.
Ceri Burns waited six hours late for her flight to Birmingham on Sunday 12 June before being denied boarding.
Ceri Burns and Chris Goulding were caught due to airline delays
Ms. Burns, 37, and partner Chris Goulding were …