Huge airport queues spark fears of holiday meltdown
Ministers told to ‘get a grip’ before schools break up in two weeks
FEARS of a summer meltdown at Britain’s airports surged yesterday as passengers queued in car parks and outside terminal buildings.
A holiday stampede is expected in a little over a fortnight when most schools in England and Wales break up.
Labour yesterday demanded Transport Secretary Grant Shapps ‘get a grip fast’.
It came as easyJet’s chief operating officer resigned following fury at the budget airline’s cancellation of thousands of flights.
And unions said they would push back against plans to relax overnight flight rules, leading to staff working ‘antisocial hours’.
One passenger waiting at Manchester Airport yesterday tweeted a photo of a queue to enter Terminal 3 that stretched into the multi-storey car park.
A second complained of ‘carnage’ while a third added: ‘Today is the worst ever. Actually standing in the car park to wait for security. Utter shambles.’
Travellers also posted images of long lines at Heathrow, with one saying the queue for security ‘starts outside the terminal’.
He added: ‘Avoid at all costs. Total mess.’
Problems at Heathrow are set to worsen when the school holidays begin and check-in and ground staff are expected to strike.
But insiders denied security waits yesterday were excessive.
At London City Airport – which has largely escaped the worst of the disruption – one passenger said it had taken ‘three hours to get through security at 6am’.
He added: ‘Totally out of control, what a mess.’
Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, who sits on the Commons transport committee, said: ‘If airports are already in meltdown now things will only get worse once the schools break for summer holidays. It’s going to be complete chaos if they do not get a grip – and get a grip fast.’
The boss of Heathrow has warned of up to 18 months of disruption as airlines struggle to recruit and train staff. The Department for Transport (DfT) is considering temporarily suspending rules on night flights.
Airlines are currently restricted in how many flights they can run between 11.30pm and 6am at major airports, which often leads to cancellations in case of delays.
But a GMB union source told the Daily Telegraph: ‘It’s not fair to force our members to work nights to pick up the slack for their mistakes.’ Responding to passenger complaints, London City Airport insisted the ‘average journey time’ through the airport yesterday was 45 minutes.
A spokesman blamed staff sickness and handling passengers rebooked from other airports.
Manchester Airport apologised for ‘any inconvenience caused’ but insisted ‘the vast majority of people’ passed through security in less than 30 minutes yesterday.
Heathrow insisted the airport was ‘busy but flowing’ yesterday, saying that while queues may have looked ‘daunting’, this was due to the layout of buildings. A spokesman said the ‘vast majority’ of passengers got through security in less than 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, easyJet’s chief operating officer Peter Bellew resigned yesterday amid growing pressure on the airline to reduce flight disruption. It has axed thousands of flights in recent months – including many just hours before they were due to depart.
Airlines have until Friday to take advantage of a government ‘amnesty’ allowing them to change airport schedules without facing a potential penalty.
Mr Shapps is trying to avoid a summer repeat of the mayhem over the Easter and Platinum Jubilee holidays.
The Government has ordered vetting centres carrying out checks on new recruits to prioritise airport staff. The DfT said counter-terrorist and accreditation checks were now being completed in record time.
A Heathrow spokesman said: ‘This is a busy period as people make the most of the ability to travel for the first summer in three
‘It’s going to be complete chaos’
‘Totally out of control’
years. We are doing everything we can to give everyone a good journey and for the vast majority of passengers this is the experience they are having.’
A DfT spokesman said it was ‘working closely with the aviation sector to help holidaymakers enjoy the summer getaways they deserve’.
He added: ‘It’s now on airlines to commit to running the flights they’ve promised and for airports and ground handlers to ensure they have the staff needed to enable these flights.’