Revealed: EasyJet cancels dozens more flights at London Gatwick Business News

Britons are facing more canceled flights and holiday chaos this week as millions embark on mid-term getaways or trips to coincide with the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

EasyJet cut another 30 flights at Gatwick on Tuesday, The Independent was said after British Airways and Tui in cutting schedules amid staff shortages which caused major disruption.

Passengers reported four-hour queues at Manchester Airport on Monday, while in Bristol they were forced to wait outside in a long queue that reached a car park. There were similar scenes at Heathrow and Birmingham.

The situation could worsen in the coming days, with people flying out once the four-day public holiday period begins on Thursday. More than 10,000 flights are expected to take off between Thursday and Sunday, according to aeronautical data company Cirium.

Meanwhile, the RAC has estimated that 19.5 million leisure road trips will take place between Wednesday and Sunday, raising fears of road chaos.

Rory Boland, editor of Who? Travelsaid: “The airlines sold these tickets, took their customers’ money and then turned around at the very last minute and said that in fact we didn’t have the staff to run these flights. . This is not the case.

“Looking ahead to the summer, airlines need to ensure they only sell tickets for routes they are confident they have the resources and capacity to operate.”

British Airways is canceling around 120 European flights a day to and from its main base, London Heathrow – but usually with weeks’ notice.

A senior Labor MP, Ben Bradshaw – a member of the Transport Select Committee – said the Government’s ‘chaotic stop-start approach to travel during Covid’ had exacerbated the problems.

He said: ‘We had the most restrictive travel regime for most of last year, but the government suddenly opened up travel without warning, which means the industry has no didn’t have time to prepare.

“Coupled with this, the public is now desperate to take the trips they canceled or postponed during Covid. The government should have anticipated and planned for this.

But a government spokesperson said: ‘The aviation industry is responsible for ensuring it has enough staff to meet demand, and we have made it clear that it needs to step up recruitment to ensure that disruptions are kept to a minimum.

“Additionally, using our post-Brexit freedoms, we have changed the law to give the sector more flexibility when training new employees, which will help them fill vacancies more quickly. We have also worked with Border Force to ensure preparations meet passenger demand.

Venice, Biarritz and Marrakech: just three of the destinations for flights canceled by easyJet on Tuesday from its main base, London Gatwick – adding to the hundreds of cancellations made by easyJet last week.

The carrier is cutting dozens of flights from its overcrowded schedules during the main mid-term week in a bid to reduce the incidence of very short-notice cancellations. The Independent recorded at least 30 departures on Tuesday, affecting around 5,000 passengers – after a similar performance on Monday.

At dawn on Monday, hundreds of passengers bound for Seville and Rome who were already at Gatwick were told just an hour before their scheduled departure time that their easyJet planes were grounded.

Alain Noir tweeted: “At Gatwick. I’m about to fly to Seville for a family wedding. The flight has just been cancelled. No alternative flights, in fact no assistance offered at all.

Under EU rules on air passenger rights, an airline that cancels a flight must offer an alternative on the same day – on a competing airline if that is the only solution. Travelers are also entitled to cash compensation, unless “extraordinary circumstances” were responsible.

The airline blamed air traffic control problems Sunday night for the cancellations. But a leading consumer advocate has accused easyJet and other carriers of ‘undermining trust in holidays’.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, called on airlines and airports to promote careers in aviation.

“Without such a recruitment push showcasing the best in the industry, consumers are going to be faced with lineups and cancellations for many weeks to come.”

An easyJet spokesperson said: “Due to the range of issues we continue to see affect our day-to-day operations, we have made the decision to cancel some flights at Gatwick in advance, to help provide reliable day-to-day services.

“This is a very small proportion of our flights, however we have not taken these decisions lightly and have done so with the aim of ensuring that we can take as many customers as possible on holiday. this summer.

“As the industry is currently facing some challenges, we have already taken steps to further strengthen our operations this summer, such as additional resources…