Summer vacationers have experienced the chaos of travel over the weekend (Image: MEN Media / Twitter)
Passengers have been warned that the chaos at airports will continue after passengers complain of “nightmare” waits of up to seven hours that ruined their mid-term getaways.
In Manchester, passengers were delayed “waiting for a pilot” for up to eight hours before it was known by text message that their flight had been canceled.
Meanwhile, at Dublin Airport, travelers have been doing “yodel and singing” this morning to spend time in big queues.
And at Stanstead Airport, passengers were forced to sleep on the ground all night due to the wave of cancellations.
Staff shortages are causing queues as air travel recovers from Covid’s shutdown, with departures from the UK exceeding 10,000 between Thursday and yesterday, three times the total a year ago.
EasyJet blamed a software crash for a wave of cancellations that left some of its passengers stranded abroad over the weekend.
And it is eliminating more than 200 more flights from Gatwick, 24 a day, until next Monday, due to issues such as baggage handling delays, runway works and air traffic control restrictions.
‘We regret the late notice of some of the cancellations and inconvenience to customers. However, we believe this is necessary to provide reliable services during this busy period, “a company spokesman said.
The winding queues passed through Manchester Airport over the weekend (Image: MEN Media)
We are at Gatwick Airport. EasyJet has canceled our flight to Belfast. There are no flights to Belfast until Tuesday. We suggested booking flights with an alternative company, but the only one leaving here tonight is Aer Lingus in Dublin and they said no.😠”@easyJet @AerLingus
– Amanda Ferguson (@AmandaFBelfast) May 29, 2022 Passengers were forced to wait outside amidst chaos at Dublin Airport (Image: Colin Keegan)
Tui also canceled flights as thousands of families faced long queues at Manchester, Stansted and Bristol airports.
There are already long queues at Bristol Airport again this morning, and several people have turned to social media to complain.
One person wrote, “@easyJet, what are you paying @BristolAirport. Only half of the safety lanes open and not FastTrack. 2 hours to pass. Queues started 300 m off the road.”
Another said, “Queue to get into the terminal at 5:15 at @BristolAirport. At least the sky is beautiful.”
Passengers were forced to sleep at Stansted Airport during the night due to cancellations (Image: nc)
Literally every aspect of traveling to / from Dublin is in disarray. The airport is an omnishamble, when you go through this infernal landscape you find one of the worst transport links in the capital of Europe. Non-existent taxis, three-star hotels that charge Ritz-Carlton rates.
– Ronan Mullen (@RonanReigns) May 29, 2022 There have been warnings of more interruptions for summer vacationers (Image: nc)
A similar outage occurred over the weekend.
Passenger Rob Scott posted online: “Carnage in Manchester. Terminal two is full of people. Great delays in departure due to lack of luggage loading due to lack of staff.”
Nicola Caine, 37, of Cheshire, said her family’s flight to Tenerife had been canceled from Manchester and then back to Gatwick, forcing them to sleep on an airport floor. .
“We have been treated like animals. It has been one problem after another. I would never fly with easyJet again,” he added.
Meanwhile, Michelle Farmer, 56, said Tui’s flight from her and her daughter Madeleine from Bristol to Naples was canceled with less than an hour’s notice.
“We have been sent to pick up our luggage with our luggage lying on the ground, now outside the airport. No help. Poor at all levels,” he tweeted.
Tui said the cancellation was “due to a combination of factors” and added: “We are doing our best to keep customers up to date.”
Large queues were seen at the easyJet baggage checkpoint at Gatwick North Terminal (Image: Twitter) Security “temporarily closed” on Sunday at Heathrow Airport (Image: Twitter)
In Dublin, chiefs warned last night of “significant queues” and said some passengers could miss flights as 50,000 were to pass over the next 24 hours.
This morning, a video of travelers with late singing and yodeling in a long queue for Lufthansa flights has been released.
Over the weekend, the airport was described as a “total collapse” as people lost their flights due to massive queues.
There were even “shuffles” when the passengers panicked for the time they were waiting.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) apologized to customers and promised that no one would be “out of pocket”.
What to do if you lose your flight due to long queues?
Receipts are crucial for any insurance claim, be it a bus ticket or a parking voucher.
But before reaching this stage, it is important to “make a fuss.”
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel: “Millions of tourists leaving this mid-term weekend and public holidays are frankly panicking over last-minute flight cancellations by some airlines and unacceptably long queues at security airport check-in and check-in.
“It’s reassuring, the number of people who have missed a flight due to the queues is very low. But if you’re stuck in a queue and your flight is leaving soon, make a fuss and ask a staff member to take you in front of you. If you appear to be missing the flight through no fault of your own, it is important that you report it to your airline as soon as possible. Buried in the T&C of many airlines is a promise of help, and some will allow you to re-book for free in these cases.
“Passengers who miss a flight due to extraordinary circumstances can claim their insurance. Evidence that you showed up at the time indicated by the airport or airline could be crucial, so keep your bus ticket or parking voucher, and receipts from shops or restaurants inside the terminal “.
With more planned delays for air travel, similar road chaos also seems likely.
Drivers have been warned to wait long distances on popular routes during the festive period of the Platinum Jubilee.
The RAC estimates that 19.5 million road trips will be made between Wednesday and Sunday.
More: Metro newspaper
A survey of 1,460 drivers ’travel plans indicated that Friday is likely to be the busiest day on the roads, as hikers combine with families returning home after mid-term breaks.
The M25 counterclockwise from junction 17 at Maple Cross Interchange, Hertfordshire, to junction 12 at Thorpe Interchange, Surrey, has been highlighted as a likely point of congestion.
Another is the A303 which passes through Stonehenge, Wiltshire, which is a popular route for tourists traveling south-west.
Contact our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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