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Date Published: 02/06/2022
ARCHIVED - Ditch the suitcase to avoid airport chaos, union head advises
More than 10,000 flights are scheduled to leave the UK this weekend
Millions of Britons are planning to take advantage of the upcoming bank holiday to jet off to Spain and other hotspots, but the recent disruptions at airports have left many travellers uneasy. Several airlines like easyJet and British Airways have cancelled their flights at the last minute due to staff shortages, and horror stories abound of travellers missing their plane, stuck in colossal queues.
There are several tried and tested ways of speeding up the security process, but according to Andy Prendergast, national secretary of the GMB union, the only fail safe way of beating the queues is to avoid checking in a big suitcase, and instead to travel lighter with just hand luggage.
"If people can check in online and do not take bags, that limits the disruption," he said.
"It's not a magic bullet, but it's one less thing to worry about and it does reduce the chance of there being problems."
The airlines themselves have blamed an overlong recruitment process for the staff shortages, along with an increased demand as Covid travel restrictions are lifted, and some carriers even plan to resort to removing seats from some of their planes to cut down on the number of cabin crew required on each flight.
But the problems could be just beginning as Ryanair baggage handlers are now threatening strike action this summer over a pay dispute.
Some10,794 flights, many of which are headed to Spain, are scheduled to take off from UK airports between Thursday and Sunday this week.
Earlier this week Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, and Robert Courts, the aviation minister, held a meeting with several of the leading airlines to try to resolve the staffing issues.
Mr Shapps said industry bosses "must do their bit" to ensure that Britons aren’t continuously sold flights they won’t be able to go on, and urged the airlines to find a solution before the summer season begins in earnest.
Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said the meeting had been a "good opportunity to discuss the challenges currently facing airports following the devastating impact of the pandemic" and she assured that the travel sector is "putting its full effort behind getting passengers away smoothly this weekend and preparing for the summer".
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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