Easter travel disruption as flights cancelled

British travellers are facing Easter holiday disruption after airlines cancelled more than 120 flights and Eurotunnel warned of three hour delays.

Easyjet and British Airways blamed staff absences from Covid for cancellations, while Eurotunnel said a broken down train caused delays.

Some schools have broken up for Easter - the first holiday since the end of the pandemic travel restrictions.

That's led to rising demand and frustration for holidaymakers.

Flight cancellations were down to a combination of factors which had come together in "a perfect storm", Simon Calder, travel correspondent at The Independent, told the BBC.

"We have got very high levels of Covid in the nation and that is affecting the transport industry. But there are also more underlying problems which go back to the start of Covid," he said.

These included a lack of staff after thousands of people left the aviation industry during the pandemic. Staff shortages have led to long queues at security and check-in.

In Manchester passengers said they were trying to swap flights to avoid the ongoing "chaos" and long queues at the airport.

At Birmingham Airport travellers have complained of "chaos" with long queues for those both arriving and departing. The airport apologised and said standards had not been met.

Easyjet flights from Edinburgh to Gatwick and Luton have been affected.Meanwhile in Wales, a ferry operator has cancelled trips between Fishguard, Pembrokeshire and Rosslare, Republic of Ireland until 12 April.

EasyJet, one of Europe's biggest airlines, said the cancellations - which included 62 from the UK - were a small part of its schedule on Monday, which is about 1,645 flights.

It apologised and said it had tried to offset the problem by using standby crew but was forced "to make some cancellations in advance".

"As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses, EasyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness," a spokesman said.

He said affected customers had been contacted and could rebook on alternative flights or receive a voucher or refund.

About 60 British Airways flights to and from Heathrow airport were cancelled on Monday. Fifty were cancelled in advance last week but 10 flights were late notice overnight cancellations, due to Covid sickness among staff.

The challenges of recruiting enough staff in time to replace the many who left during the pandemic had already forced BA to re-think its spring schedules.

Two weeks ago the airline took the decision to pro-actively remove some flights until May. It's understood about 20 daily services, primarily on short haul routes, were taken out.

"As a precaution we've slightly reduced our schedule between now and the end of May as we ramp back up," said BA.

Eurotunnel warned motorists heading abroad to expect delays after a train "temporarily stopped" in the tunnel linking England to France.

The operator, which runs services from Folkestone to France, warned journeys could be delayed by up to three hours.

In a tweet the company apologised and urged passengers to "check in as normal".

A spokesperson for Eurotunnel said: "As a result of a technical issue with a freight shuttle overnight, Eurotunnel is currently operating a reduced service. We expect to have full services running again later in the day."

Meanwhile, freight vehicles are still parked on the M20 and A20 around Dover, after three days of disruption for traffic crossing the English Channel.

Ferry capacity is reduced because of the suspension of P&O services and DFDS having two vessels out of action.

Being stuck in queues or having flights cancelled will be extremely frustrating for many passengers.

In truth, staffing challenges are not a huge surprise, although Covid-related sickness is clearly making things worse.

Even with the furlough scheme, aviation shed thousands of jobs during the worst of the pandemic.

Now it's trying to expand again to meet resurgent demand, at a time when many sectors are finding it hard to get enough staff.

And people working at an airport can't just start overnight; security checks and references are required.

International travel has been through several false starts. Some recruiters believe workers are choosing jobs they perceive as more stable, such as home delivery and logistics. They also say the loss of EU workers after Brexit has made things harder.

Businesses hope the picture will improve by the summer.

For now, staffing is yet another headwind pushing against aviation's recovery.

On Sunday, traveller Donna Mayfield told the BBC the situation at Manchester Airport was "horrendous", while another said they had seen "customers and staff in tears".

Manchester Airport apologised and admitted passengers' experiences fell "below the standard we aim to provide".

"The removal of all travel restrictions after two years, coupled with the start of the summer travel season, has seen a rapid increase in passenger numbers, which is putting an enormous strain on our operation," a spokesman said.

Gatwick Airport told the BBC it also had a busy weekend as the Easter holidays kicked off. Some schools broke up at the end of last week, while others were due to finish on 11 April.

And disruption at airports could go on for a while yet, warned John Strickland, director of JLS Consulting - an independent air transport consultancy.

"I think certainly the next month or two are going to be very difficult," he told the BBC's Wake Up To Money.

"We know that Manchester has said that passengers should expect queues for one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training."

He said that airlines like British Airways were also recruiting additional cabin crew.

"British Airways has actually reduced down a number of its flights up until the end of May to recognise that that way they can operate reliably those flights that they have the staff resources to handle."

Passengers who received little or no notice about their cancelled flight, and ultimately arrive much later at their destination, may be entitled to extra compensation payments.

With many of the flights cancelled fewer than seven days before the scheduled departure, airlines are obliged to inform those affected of their rights - which can include putting them on a flight with a different carrier or getting a full refund.

"These cancellations will cause huge frustration for individuals and families who were eagerly awaiting an Easter getaway," said Rory Boland of consumer group Which?

He said there should have been "better communications" from airlines who "should be more upfront about your rights".

He said passengers affected on Monday may be entitled to at least £220 compensation to cover out of pocket costs, depending on the circumstances, and airlines should provide refreshments and accommodation as required while their customers await their new flight.

Full details of the Civil Aviation Authority rules are here. A helpful guide from Which? is here.