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Date Published: 12/04/2022

ARCHIVED - Further travel chaos as UK cancels 100 more flights

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Experts warn of a summer full of flight disruptions

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Further travel chaos as UK cancels 100 more flights

Easter holidaymakers eager for a little sun have faced another shaky start to the week as widespread disruptions are being reported at Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick, with passengers waiting hours to collect their baggage and some travellers even missing flights as a result of chaotic check-ins.

To add insult to injury, almost 100 flights were cancelled on Monday April 11 from UK airports, reportedly due in large part to staff shortages as a result of Covid. Cases in the UK have rebounded in recent weeks, and British Airways was forced to suspend at least 64 flights between Heathrow, the rest of the UK and Europe at the beginning of the week.

The airline has already warned that flights are likely to be disrupted at least until the end of May.

EasyJet has followed, axing a minimum of 25 flights from Gatwick to Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Milan. The timing could scarcely be worse as countless families are hoping to jet away over the Easter holidays, but the low-cost airline has assured that the cancellations are being made "in advance to give customers the ability to rebook on to alternative flights".

Last week, more than 200 flights, including ten regular routes with Spain, were cancelled from Britain as a direct result of the staff shortages.

According to data from Cirium, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled in the week between March 28 and April 3.

John O' Neill, North West Regional Industrial Officer for Unite has warned that even more delays can be expected as the summer season gets underway, and carriers have advised that a new air traffic control system due to be installed over French airspace will cause untold disruption.

"Summer is going to be far worse than this. It is the time to get everything in place otherwise summer is going to be very difficult," Mr O’ Neill said, adding that if the situation continues as it is, there simply won’t be "sufficient workers to meet passenger demand."

Flights aren’t the only mode of transport causing chaos in the UK, and 50 kilometre tailbacks were reported over the weekend at the port of Dover, leaving holidaymakers and professional drivers alike stranded for hours.

Image: Archive

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