Thousands left stranded on second day of airport chaos

Paul McGowan cast a weary eye over the chaotic scenes unfolding at the busiest airport in Europe on the busiest month of the year.

Paul McGowan cast a weary eye over the chaotic scenes unfolding at the busiest airport in Europe on the busiest month of the year.

"It's a world-renowned company," said Mr McGowan, who had been hoping to travel to Madrid as stated on his British Airways ticket. "They should have the infrastructure in place to ensure they have adequate staff."

Mr McGowan, a 27-year-old Australian living in Manchester, was one of thousands of travellers stranded yesterday during a second day of disruptions at Heathrow airport. "We just went up to the desk and they said 'You are in the right line, but your flight has been cancelled'," said Mr McGowan. And he was not alone. The scene at the airport reflected the frustration of thousands of passengers. Queues of travellers crowded the British Airways information desk in a vain attempt to obtain help. Piles of baggage built up while tired families collectively swapped dreams of holidays for a few hours' sleep on benches.

The apology offered by BA bosses inevitably failed to dent the anger and frustration experienced by many customers.

"To be told that they've got no staff is ludicrous," said Tom Edmonds, 36, whose flight to Nice, France, was among those cancelled. "I'm only going for four days and I now have to queue up to try and get myself booked on a later flight."

For many travellers, it was the second day of attempting to glean information from harassed BA staff who were valiantly attempting to placate the increasingly disgruntled crowds.

Destinations affected included Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, Zurich, Stuttgart, Nice, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Madrid, Helsinki and Stockholm.

Marita Baaske, 42, and her son, Ramon, 12, from Dusseldorf, were among hundreds of passengers who spent Monday night in a hotel. Yesterday, their attempts to leave Heathrow continued as they returned to queue for a replacement flight. She said: "I'm very angry. We were due to fly at 6pm but we had to wait until 10pm before they told us there were no flights. We have been visiting friends in London and I was supposed to be back at work today and my boss is obviously not very happy."

Irene Guth, 80, from Windsor, whose flight to Berlin had been cancelled, added: "This should not be happening, we were going to a party. I'm very unhappy."

BA said that it was short of about 150 ground staff at Terminal 1 and conceded that it had left recruitment too late after departures earlier in the year. It denied that sickness levels were above normal.

This was of scant consolation to Daniel Blewitt, a 30-year-old club promoter, who was forced to wait 17 hours - including a night on the floor in the airport - before boarding a flight to Stockholm. "You can't describe how frustrating it was. It was the complete lack of information that was the hardest part to deal with," he said.

Frustrations at the lack of information were echoed by Andrew Williams, who was also delayed overnight after his flight was cancelled on Monday. Describing how passengers were increasingly "losing their cool" amid scenes of "shambolic chaos", he said: "Some people were shunted off to try and book extra tickets to find the ticket office all shut up with no luggage and nowhere to go."

For some passengers, the delays endured yesterday may have brought back memories of the serious delays caused by strike action in July last year when BA workers staged an unofficial walkout, causing similar disruption.

The apologies and explanations from BA chiefs may have flown thick and fast as a result of this week's delays, but for many delayed passengers it was too little, too late. As Ms Baaske stated: "The next time I will fly Lufthansa."