Manchester Airport warns of more queues as travel disruption continues

Disruption at airports and the Port of Dover is continuing, ahead of another busy weekend for travel.

Thousands of people heading abroad for the Easter holidays have faced long queues, delays and cancellations.

Manchester Airport, which has had particular problems for weeks, told the BBC the long waits it has seen at security could continue.

At Dover, the suspension of P&O ferry services and bad weather have also caused delays.

With passenger numbers increasing after the easing of pandemic restrictions, several airports have been hit by cancellations and long queues.

Airports say they are struggling to recruit and train new staff quick enough to cope with demand, leading to staff shortages and delays at check-in and security.

Meanwhile, airlines have also been hit by Covid-related staff absences, with a total of more than 100 daily flights being cancelled by EasyJet and British Airways. However, this figure will include dozens of flights cancelled in advance.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he was "very concerned" about the level of disruption over the Easter holidays. He called on travel operators to "redouble their efforts" to make sure people travelling abroad "can get away as smoothly as possible".

Ken O'Toole, the deputy chief executive of Manchester Airports Group, said the next four to six weeks would be a "difficult period" for the airport, with some passengers facing queues of 60 to 90 minutes.

However, he told the BBC the chaotic scenes last weekend, which saw some passengers miss flights, were an "isolated incident".

Mr O'Toole said the speed the travel industry had recovered had taken Manchester Airport by surprise, leaving it short-staffed.

He added that 220 new staff had been recruited, who were currently being trained and would start work over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, he urged travellers to be prepared for longer waits and to arrive three hours in advance to ensure they do not miss their flights around the Easter holidays.

"We want to protect the full flying schedule. We want to make sure that after two years of people not getting away, those trips that they have booked, they can take them," he said.

"That unfortunately does mean on occasion there will be queues which are not acceptable, they're not what we're aiming for.

"But the compromise between having that situation or cancelling lots of flights for people - which other airports have done in recent weeks - we believe people would prefer to accept a queue and make sure they get away."

While Manchester Airport appears to be the worst affected, Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham have also been hit by delays and cancellations.

The boss of the airlines watchdog has written to UK airlines expressing frustration and concern for holiday-makers.

Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, said "late-notice cancellations and excessive delays at airports" were distressing for passengers and could hit consumer confidence.

He called on airlines and airports to work together to ensure disruption is "kept to a minimum".

A group of schoolchildren told the BBC how upsetting it was for their EasyJet flight from Gatwick to be cancelled, preventing them from joining their classmates on a skiing trip.

"It's really sad, because we had to get up really, really early in the morning for absolutely nothing, just to sit in the airport for about six hours, sitting next to our suitcases looking forward to something that wasn't going to happen," one of the girls said.

EasyJet apologised and offered further assistance, including a refund.

Meanwhile, ferry passengers have also seen disruption since the Easter holiday period began last weekend, with the no-notice sackings of hundreds of P&O Ferries staff placing pressure on other operators while demand for travel has picked up.

Bad weather has exacerbated problems at Dover, where lorry drivers and holiday-makers have been forced to queue for hours in recent days due to traffic around the port.

Dover District Council has said it is prepared to declare "a major incident" if the disruption continues into the weekend.

On Friday, ferry company DFDS reported delays of two hours on its services from Dover to Calais.

The company's director of capacity, Chris Parker, told the BBC tourist traffic through Dover was currently "free-flowing" but he warned the port would be "extremely busy" this weekend.

He added that it would take longer to clear the backlog of freight traffic.

Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Ports Association, said it would take several days for the disruption to ease.

P&O Ferries has said all its Dover-Calais routes will remain suspended this weekend but it is preparing to get its Pride of Kent and Spirit of Britain ships back in action on the route by next week.

In a statement, the Port of Dover said it was expecting "another busy weekend" as travellers set off for Easter getaways.

It advised passengers to allow plenty of time for their journey, check with their operator before travelling and only arrive for their allotted sailing.