Travel disruption – live: Calls for automatic airline refunds grow as Wizz Air adds to advance cancellations
Wizz Air has announced ‘a large number’ of cancellations from 10 June onwards
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The travel disruption experienced by UK holidaymakers in recent weeks looks set to continue, as Wizz Air becomes the latest airline to announce a series of cancelled flights to and from the UK.
The Hungarian low-cost carrier announced that it is cancelling “a large number of flights” from Doncaster Sheffield Airport from 10 June onwards.
The airline says the move is “a result of Doncaster Sheffield Airport indicating that it is unable to guarantee the terms of its commercial agreement with Wizz Air”.
Meanwhile, easyJet has cancelled at least 30 flights on Friday - the airline has said it is proactively cancelling 240 flights in the 10 days to 6 June, giving passengers some advance notice. British Airways also cancelled 120 flights for Friday - the airline says these are pre-planned and that passengers were given advance notice.
The UK’s airport queues are reported to have largely eased, with fewer problems at security and check-in reported by passengers than in recent days.
Disruption at Bristol airport
There was also travel disruption at Bristol airport today.
One Twitter user complained about the arrivals queues this afternoon, while another, who is supposed to be flying from the airport tomorrow, expressed her nerves about possible delays:
Airport chaos could worsen with potential BA check-in staff strike
British Airways check-in crew could strike next month to complain about their pay.
If the workers agree to the action, it could take place next month, the busiest time of year for travellers. British airports have already been struggling to cope with demand recently, with hundreds of flights scrapped during half term.
The strike would be over BA’s refusal to reverse pay cuts brought in earlier in the pandemic, according to Unite.
Sharon Graham, the union’s secretary general, said: “British Airways used the cover of Covid to brutally cut members’ pay.
“It has now reversed the pay cuts imposed on management but refuses to do this for our members. Unite will not allow our members to be treated as a second-class workforce.”
No guarantee problems at Dublin airport will abate, says Irish housing minister
Uncertainty surrounds flights scheduled to leave Dublin airport this week, after days of cancellations were blamed on staff shortages.
Housing minister Darragh O’Brien, whose Dublin constituency is home to the capital’s airport, said he could not guarantee that the problem would stop.
“I hope I’m wrong – I need to see the plan,” he told The Irish Times on Monday.
All the easyJet flights that were cancelled today
Here’s a recently updated list of all the easyJet flights that were cancelled today:
All the easyJet flights cancelled today
Passengers at Gatwick heading for Rome and Seville on Monday morning were given an hour’s notice that their flights were cancelled
Airport chaos to continue as easyJet cancels more flights – Simon Calder
Britons face more cancelled flights and holiday chaos this week as millions embark on half-term getaways or trips to coincide with the platinum jubilee weekend (Simon Calder writes).
EasyJet has axed another 30 flights at Gatwick on Tuesday, The Independent has been told, following British Airways and Tui in cutting schedules amid staff shortages that have caused major disruption.
Passengers reported four-hour queues at Manchester Airport on Monday, while at Bristol they were forced to wait outside in a long line which reached a car park. There were similar scenes at Heathrow and Birmingham.
The situation could worsen in the coming days with people jetting off once the four-day bank holiday period begins on Thursday. More than 10,000 flights are scheduled to depart between Thursday and Sunday, according to aviation data firm Cirium.
Meanwhile the RAC estimated that 19.5 million leisure trips by road will take place between Wednesday and Sunday, leading to fears of road chaos.
Revealed: EasyJet cancels dozens more flights at London Gatwick
EasyJet is to cancel another 30 flights on Tuesday as travel disruption continues
Road chaos warning as nearly 20m trips expected over Jubilee bank holiday
Drivers are being warned to expect long delays on popular routes during the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday period as nearly 20 million getaway journeys are planned.
The RAC estimated that 19.5 million leisure trips by road will take place between Wednesday and Sunday – with Friday likely to be the busiest.
Traffic information supplier Inrix advised drivers to set off either before 6am or after 3pm to avoid the worst of the traffic.
The M25 anticlockwise from Junction 17 at Maple Cross Interchange, Hertfordshire to Junction 12 at Thorpe Interchange, Surrey has been highlighted as a likely congestion hotspot.
Rod Dennis, RAC traffic spokesman, said: “Drivers clearly see a double bank holiday this close to the summer as a gift with so millions eager to make the most of it – although many appear keen to keep their car journeys short, perhaps mixing a daytrip or two with a Jubilee celebration at home.
“The fact the bank holidays coincide with the end of half-term in many places has the potential to put some extra pressure on the road network, so planning a journey carefully is important to beat the worst of any queues.”
Which? calls for UK government to step in at airports
The editor of Which? Travel has called for an “immediate response” from government, airlines and airports following the queues and delays at the UK’s airports.
Rory Boland said: “Unacceptably long queues and widespread chaos at airports are causing huge amounts of stress to those who have planned to get away this half-term and bank holiday weekend.
“The situation requires an immediate response and the government must work with airlines and airports to ensure they have the resources and capacity to put an end to the last-minute flight cancellations and disruption we are seeing.
Mr Boland said most passengers just wanted to be put on another flight and taken to their destination – adding that the Civil Aviation Authority should remind airlines they have a duty to offer rebookings as quickly as possible.
He went on: “The fiasco of domestic and international flight cancellations shows why consumer travel protections must be strengthened, not weakened. The Department for Transport should shelve its plans to water down passengers’ rights to compensation when their UK flight is delayed or cancelled, and give the CAA fining powers so they can take swift action when airlines flout the rules.”
Dublin airport has until Tuesday morning to come up with fix – Irish government
Dublin Airport bosses have been told to come up with solutions to resolve the lengthy delays faced by passengers by Tuesday morning.
In a meeting with airport management today, Irish government ministers expressed their “immense disappointment and frustration” by the scenes over the weekend, which led to more than 1,000 passengers missing their flights on Sunday alone.
Airport officials today met with Eamon Ryan, the minister for transport, and junior minister Hildegarde Naughton to discuss the issue.
In a joint statement they said: “The ministers said that the excessively long queues and wait times were causing significant distress to passengers as well as reputational damage to the country from a business, travel, connectivity and tourism point of view.
“The ministers have instructed [Dublin Airport Authority] to report back by tomorrow morning on solutions that can be put in place in advance of this bank holiday weekend to deliver an acceptable passenger experience for citizens and visitors departing from the airport.”
Bristol airport queues ‘worst we’ve ever seen’
The queues of passengers outside Bristol airport were the worst in memory, according to airport transfer service MET Executive Travel.
Bristol airport has been one of the worst affected by travel delays in recent days, leading passengers to name it “Bristol Zoo”.
Passengers were forced to wait outside in a long line which reached a car park earlier today.
The taxi firm posted a video of the queues on Facebook earlier. It said: “Here are the queues of passengers trying to get into the airport this morning stretching out as far as the drop off zone, worst we’ve ever seen.”
Manchester passengers delayed ‘up to four hours'
Passengers at Manchester airport reported having to wait in queues for four hours today.
Manchester Airport said in a statement that airlines and their ground handlers are experiencing “challenges” which is “leading to delays at check-in and baggage reclaim for some passengers”.
It added: “This is not the experience we want passengers to have at Manchester Airport and we are sorry to hear customers have faced disruption.”
Several social media users suggested the airport was trying to shift the blame for delays, which they claimed were down to staff shortages caused by lay-offs during the pandemic.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments