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, affecting around 34,000 travellers in all.

Other airlines have also cancelled flights, as around two million people prepare to fly over the next few days.

One family, whose flight was cancelled with less than two days notice, said their children were "devastated".

Joanna Chandramani said she, her husband and their seven-year-old twin girls had been set to fly to Turkey on Wednesday, but she got a text on Monday evening telling her their holiday was cancelled.

She said Tui had now offered them vouchers but the family did not want to re-book with them so were flying with Jet2 to Mallorca instead.

"We have lost all faith in Tui," she added.

Tui said customers affected by cancellations would receive a full refund for their holidays "as well as an extra gesture of goodwill".

The company said the cancellations represented about 4% of its flights.

Tui said it understood the cancellations would be "disappointing" but added: "We believe this is necessary to provide stability and a better customer service at Manchester Airport."

• What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?

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

Before the Covid pandemic, airports and airlines across Great Britain employed around 140,000 people, according to Airlines UK. However, since then thousands of jobs have been cut, including around 30,000 for UK airlines alone, due to the restrictions on international travel.

The industry has struggled to cope with a surge in flyers as demand picked up again, with many finding it difficult to recruit and train new staff quick enough.

Prospect, the union which represents staff across air traffic control and in aviation engineering, warned that things could "get worse before they get better".

The Airport Operators Association, which represents the industry, said big recruitment campaigns had been under way since before the start of this year and additional staff were now being deployed.

It said most passengers were getting through security smoothly and the association would continue to work with the government to be ready for the summer.

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Around 10,000 flights are set to leave the UK between Thursday and Sunday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the government was working with the travel industry to tackle the problems.

"We put in place billions of pounds of support for the travel industry, in particular during the pandemic," he said.

"Right now there are conversations happening between the industry and ministers to make sure disruption can be eased."

But Garry Graham, deputy general secretary of the Prospect union, said: "The government point to the furlough scheme but ignore that it ended well before the majority of international restrictions on travel came to an end."

Trade unions say airlines are struggling to recruit staff because jobs in the industry are not well-paid or secure enough and training new staff takes time. As a result the problems are likely to continue for some time.

Michael Turner, a nurse from Shoreham, is currently on his third attempt to go on holiday with his family to Tenerife.

Due to fly from Gatwick last Thursday, Mr Turner was told his EasyJet flight had been cancelled 20 minutes before departure. He re-booked a Tui flight which was all that was available and said he experienced "absolute chaos" in the departure lounge at Manchester Airport.

After boarding the plane, Mr Turner said its pilot called the police as no-one was able to get off for three hours.

The family was then escorted to collect their baggage and put on a coach without being told where they were going and are now waiting to be taken back to the airport for a flight this evening.

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 for Swissport apologised for its part in any disruption, adding that the return of demand for flights was "exacerbating resource challenges across the aviation industry.".

A number of other airports reported high traffic on Tuesday.

Glasgow Airport said queues at security were "longer than usual" in the morning, though passengers moved through at a "steady pace".

A spokesperson said the airport was "busier than it has been for more than two years" but urged people not to arrive early.

At Edinburgh Airport some passengers had to wait outside the terminal building to check in luggage.

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

• Half-term holidays in shreds as flights cancelled
• Airport passengers urged not to arrive early

There were also long waits for Eurostar train services at London's St Pancras station, with queues extending outside the building.

Eurostar said one train was taken out of service earlier due to a technical fault, leading to delays of 30 to 60 minutes.

A spokeswoman said queues were moving and staff were working hard to ensure check-in was as smooth as possible.

Meanwhile, the RAC predicts drivers will make 19.5 million trips by car over the Jubilee bank holiday weekend, potentially clogging the roads.

The motoring group said Friday is expected to be the busiest day, with the M25 forecast to be a hotspot.

Southbound M5, A303 and A720 Edinburgh city bypass are all also being flagged as roads to watch for potential delays, with transport experts Inrix predicting traffic conditions could be worst in the mornings of the bank holidays.

Inrix are advising drivers to start their journeys as early as possible or wait until later in the day to avoid any jams.