‘Hellish scenes’ at British airports amid struggle to cope with surge in traffic

While Irish eyes have been on Dublin Airport to see if last weekend’s chaotic scenes, which saw 1,400 people miss flights, would be repeated, the situation in the UK is considerably worse, with cancelled flights and long delays across multiple airports leaving thousands of passengers miserable and stranded.

“Hellish scenes” across the airport network there have thrown the plans of tens of thousands of would-be holidaymakers into disarray, with airports and airlines struggling to cope with unanticipated demand as the sector bounces back in the post-Covid period.

This week is the half-term in Britain and the school holidays, coupled with a double bank holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee, have seen people there travelling in numbers not seen since pre-pandemic times.

The travel sector there has struggled in the face of the surge in demand, with hundreds of flights cancelled over recent days.

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On Saturday in London’s Gatwick Airport alone, 25 departing flights and 22 aircraft scheduled to arrive were cancelled, with 7,000 passengers impacted.

According to the airport, the disruption was caused because departures did not leave, which meant they were not able to bring returning passengers back to the airport.

“Poor weather across Europe does mean air traffic control restrictions have been placed on airspace across the continent,” the airport said in a statement. “This is causing delays and is the reason for some of the cancellations. Many UK airports will be impacted by this.”

EasyJet also cancelled at least 30 flights out of the UK on Saturday, throwing the travel plans of thousands of passengers into disarray.

Addressing the chaotic scenes, the British transport minister Grant Shapps said the “industry itself needs to solve it. The government doesn’t run airports, it doesn’t run the airlines. The industry needs to do that.”

As in Ireland, staffing has been highlighted as an issue with the aviation sector in the UK saying it is taking longer to recruit new employees and vet them for security clearance.

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday morning Mr Shapps said staff cuts during the pandemic had gone too deep. “We’ll work with the industry very hard ... to make sure we don’t see a repeat of those scenes,” he said.

He suggested that a change in the law is making it easier to deal with the administration needed for security clearance was required.

Echoing comments made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney earlier this week, he said he did not believe the army needed to be called in to help speed up the security checks at British airports.

“After a hellish week of queues, cancellations and chaos for thousands of people in the UK’s airports, it’s vital that we now see action taken to avoid a repeat during the summer holidays – and this has to start with airlines following the rules when flights are disrupted,” consumer law expert with British consumer watchdog Lisa Webb said.

“The shameful scenes at UK airports this half term are the result of an industry in which some airlines feel they can get away with ignoring consumer rights and acting with near impunity,” she said.

She suggested that “passenger rights need to be strengthened, so the [British] government must drop plans to cut compensation for delayed and cancelled flights and the CAA must be given the power to issue direct fines so it can hold airlines to account when they flout the law”.

As in this country, if a flight is cancelled, airlines must offer compensation where applicable and the option of rerouting with a rival carrier, if necessary.