Airports are told to get a grip on Easter chaos as CAA boss fires off warning letters ahead of another busy weekend for travellers
- Airlines must stop last-minute cancellations, Civil Aviation Authority warned
- They must also give refunds quickly when passengers suffer disruption
- Warning issued after several days of cancellations and chaos in departure halls
- All Covid travel restrictions were dropped last month in time for Easter holidays
- Some airlines struggling to recruit enough to keep pace with surging demand
Airlines must stop making last-minute cancellations and give refunds quickly when passengers suffer disruption, the industry regulator warned last night.
The boss of the Civil Aviation Authority fired the warning shot in two rare letters to airline and airport chiefs after several days of cancellations and bedlam inside departure halls.
Richard Moriarty said he was concerned by the service travellers have received in recent days and warned airlines to offer a more realistic number of flights based on staffing levels.
Some airlines are struggling to recruit fast enough to keep pace with surging passenger numbers amid the Easter holidays and after all Covid travel restrictions were dropped last month.
Above: Manchester Airport, Terminal 1 packed at 4am. The long delays comes at a time when the Civil Aviation Authority warned Airlines to stop making last-minute cancellations and give refunds quickly when passengers suffer disruption
Above: Travellers at Manchester Airport. The boss of the Civil Aviation Authority fired the warning shot in two rare letters to airline and airport chiefs after several days of cancellations and bedlam inside departure halls
Travellers queue at Manchester Airport, above. Richard Moriarty, head of the CCA, said he was concerned by the service travellers have received in recent days and warned airlines to offer a more realistic number of flights based on staffing levels
Mr Moriarty said it was the CAA’s ‘expectation’ airlines and airports work better together so that ‘disruption is kept to a minimum’. He added airlines should give travellers plenty of notice of cancellations and avoid doing it at the eleventh hour when they are already at the airport.
Mr Moriarty’s letter went on: ‘I would also like to take the opportunity to remind you of your legal obligations… to offer passengers a choice of refund or alternative travel arrangements at the earliest opportunity.’
Last week, more than 1,100 flights to and from the UK were cancelled, mostly by British Airways and easyJet partly due to staff shortages. Yesterday, BA axed 74 flights and easyJet cut 52, affecting 15,000 passengers.
Queues were so large at Manchester that some travellers missed flights. Passengers reported it taking several hours to check in, get through security and collect luggage. There have also been bottlenecks at Heathrow and Birmingham airports.
Tourism chiefs were last night finalising emergency plans to avoid travel chaos as holidaymakers brace for one of the busiest weekends this year.
One senior aviation source said ‘it’s all hands on deck’ as bosses scramble to deploy backroom staff to tackle huge queues.
Passenger numbers are expected to ramp up again this weekend as travellers who could not get away last week jet off and the first wave of holidaymakers return.
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