More flights cancelled ahead of Jubilee break

Holiday giant Tui is cancelling more flights as air passengers face ongoing disruption ahead of the Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

Tui will cancel six flights a day until the end of June, which it blamed on staff shortages at Manchester Airport.

Around two million people are set to fly over the bank holiday in one of the busiest periods so far this year.

On Tuesday, Glasgow, Stansted and Gatwick airports reported high passenger numbers.

Thousands of passengers across the UK have seen flights cancelled and delays at airports when checking in and collecting baggage as the half-term break began.

During the first two years of the pandemic, aviation ground almost to a halt and the industry cut thousands of jobs. Airports and airlines have struggled to cope with a surge in flyers as travel picked up again.

Travel expert Simon Calder told the BBC’s Today programme: “It’s awful, so many people who haven’t had a holiday for perhaps three years, desperate to get away, have to go the half term week and they discover that unfortunately the airline industry and airports are completely overstretched”.

Tui, which has already announced some cancellations, said that affected customers will receive a full refund for their holidays “as well as an extra gesture of goodwill”.

The company said it understood the decision is “disappointing” but said: “We believe this is necessary to provide stability and a better customer service at Manchester Airport.”

Manchester Airport said Tui and Swissport, which provides ground services such as baggage handling, “are experiencing temporary staff shortages, in common with other aviation and travel companies”.

A spokesperson from Swissport said while the return of plane journeys following the lifting of Covid restrictions is “undoubtedly a positive development”, it also “exacerbates resource challenges across the aviation industry…especially at a busy period of holiday travel.”

“We are very sorry for our part in any delays and disruption passengers have experienced.”

A number of other airports reported high traffic on Tuesday. Glasgow said queues at security were “longer than usual” in the morning through passengers moved through at a “steady pace”.

A spokesperson for Glasgow urged people not to arrive early. “The airport is busier than it has been for more than two years as passenger demand continues to increase,” he said.

Meanwhile, Stansted is forecasting 80,000 passengers a day over the next week.

Government minister Lord Parkinson questioned the air travel industry’s preparedness for the busy half-term break which coincides with the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday.

He told Sky News that travel companies should “be making sure that people are able to get away on holiday and enjoy it fully”.

“We have been, for many months, urging them to make sure they’ve got enough staff.”

In April the UK’s aviation watchdog wrote to airports and airlines to express concern over the impact of staff shortages on international travel.

Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), warned late notice cancellations and “excessive” delays at airports were not only distressing for consumers but could affect confidence just when passengers were returning to flying.

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