EasyJet chief quits as more holiday f lights chaos looms
Carriers struggle with staff shortages as travellers try to get away
A HIGH-rAnkInG easyJet boss has quit following a gruelling period of disruption, including thousands of flight cancellations.
The firm’s chief operating officer Peter Bellew has stepped down amid growing anger over flight disruption.
EasyJet has been one of the worst hit for cancellations, axing thousands of flights, many on the day they were due to depart.
The aviation sector is struggling to cope with rising demand for travel amid staff shortages and difficulties obtaining security clearance for recruits.
In April the pilots’ union Balpa said Mr Bellew was behind a breakdown in relations between their members and easyJet’s management – particularly in its handling of staff absences. He resigned to ‘pursue other business opportunities’, the carrier said. Yesterday queues of frustrated passengers snaked into car parks and outside terminal buildings at some travel hubs.
With Scotland’s school summer holidays under way, the difficulties will have an impact on families looking to get away.
At Manchester Airport one passenger yesterday tweeted a photograph of a queue to enter Terminal 3 that was so long it stretched into the multi-storey car park.
At Edinburgh a ‘significant number’ of bags were not loaded onto connecting flights. Baggage handlers Swissport and
Menzies Aviation were flooded with complaints after cases were left piled up in the arrivals hall on Sunday.
A spokesman for Swissport said: ‘Unfortunately a significant number of bags were not loaded onto connecting flights into Edinburgh. Instead, they arrived on different, later flights after most passengers had left the airport and the knock-on effect of these missed baggage connections has created a backlog of luggage. We’re working to process these bags as fast as we can.’
Menzies Aviation said it was ‘working hard’ on issues at Edinburgh and Glasgow.