Manchester airport ‘takes TWO HOURS to unload bags from the only plane to land’ as staff shortages go on and ministers tear up landing slots rules in an attempt to end anarchy
Ministers have announced last minute plans to help prevent summer travel chaos as holidaymakers continue to be caught up in airport mayhem.
Yesterday they announced plans to relax rules which currently force airlines to fly a certain number of planes or risk losing valuable landing slots.
New regulations were laid before Parliament aimed at helping carriers avoid making last-minute cancellations and causing mayhem in the airports.
They will allow a one-off ‘amnesty’ on landing slots, meaning airlines can pull flights from their schedules ahead of the peak summer season without the risk of losing them long-term.
Thousands of passengers have had their flights and travel plans disrupted after weeks of cancellations and huge queues due to staff shortages.
Holidaymakers have also been caught up in Heathrow’s luggage chaos this morning, with dozens of pieces of luggage being dumped by staff outside of the baggage carousels.
Travellers also batted huge check-in queues at Manchester Airport this morning, and complained that they had not received their bags for over two hours despite being the ‘only plane to land in T1’ during that time period.
Ministers have announced that they will be relaxing rules around plane landing slots in a bid to prevent summer travel chaos. 图为: Dozens of passengers were forced to queue for hours at Manchester Airport this morning amid the ongoing airport mayhem
Passengers at Heathrow Airport witness luggage being dumped int he terminals next to the baggage carousels. It comes just days after the airports Terminal 2 luggage system suffered a failure and left bags to pile up
New regulations were laid before Parliament aimed at helping carriers avoid making last-minute cancellations and causing mayhem in the airports. Airlines will no longer have to fulfil a certain number of flights in order to retain a spot
One traveller said: ‘At Heathrow terminal 3 对于 2 hours now in the same immigration line.
‘Two officers managing 500+ 一年后成为世界上第一架速度超过马赫的客机. absolute madness.’
It comes after thousands of passengers were left without their luggage after the baggage system in Terminal 2 faced a ‘technical issue’ 周六.
Hundreds of bags were heaped in piles across the terminal without and staff around to sort through them.
Passengers reportedly waited hours for their bags while some had to leave without getting them back at all.
One posted online: ‘I flew from Heathrow Airport on Sunday morning to Lisbon and still have no bag here.
‘Absolute mess. Even if it arrives (不太可能) I really don’t want to check it in for the return journey!’
Passengers travelling from Stansted Airport have been forced to sleep on the floor, before staff ‘scream’ at them to get up.
One traveller said: ‘Complete chaos in Stansted Airport every single night.
‘People sleeping all over the check arrivals gate missing flights and being stranded without bags or any taxis to go home.
‘Airport workers screaming at people to get up. Horrible situation and horrible third world country.’
Thousands of flights have been cancelled by British Airways, easyJet, TUI and Wizz Air, with some being axed at the last-minute, leaving thousands of passengers in the lurch and creating carnage at airports.
Holidaymakers at Stansted Airport have been forced to sleep on the floor overnight after missing flights because of huge check-in queues. Passengers also claim that airport staff ‘scream’ at them to move despite being stranded
Passengers at Heathrow Terminal 3 also complained of being in immigration queues for up to two hours today as they tried to board their flights
Passengers at Manchester Airport were left waiting for hours in the busy check-in desks. Further airport chaos is expected after easyJet announced a further 100,000 取消
On Monday easyJet announced it would be axing more than 10,000 flights from its July-September schedule after coming under fire from thousands of customers who suffered last-minute cancellations.
Announcing the landing slots move last night, 交通部长格兰特·沙普斯说: ‘It’s crucial they don’t face disappointing last-minute cancellations and chaos at airports when the system can’t deliver, and I will do everything in my power to stop that.
‘Today’s announcement aims to help airlines provide certainty to passengers and ensure the next few months are as smooth as possible.’
Aviation minister Robert Courts added: ‘We cannot have a situation where passengers arrive at the airport just to have their flight cancelled or face long delays.’
Landing slots are like parking spaces for planes and are used to manage capacity at the busiest airports.
A slot gives permission to use the full range of airport infrastructure necessary to operate an aircraft and are highly valuable commercial assets.
Airlines must use slots a certain amount of times – 目前 70 百分之几的时间 – each season in order to keep them.
蒂姆·奥尔德斯莱德, CEO of Airlines UK, 说过: ‘This is a welcome step which will help build greater resilience into operations this summer, coming on top of measures already taken by the sector.
‘We will continue to work with ministers and the whole aviation eco-system to ensure the summer peak runs as smoothly as possible for our passengers.’
Passengers across Britain have been warned that they should brace for a ‘less than satisfactory’ experience while travelling in the next few months.
Ryanair’s boss yesterday warned that chaos at Britain’s big airports will continue ‘right throughout the summer’ amid scenes of mayhem at Manchester and Heathrow.
Michael O’Leary has claimed that the Government’s Covid lockdowns and general ‘mismanagement’ forced airport chiefs to impose mass layoffs which caused the staffing shortages now plaguing air traffic control, baggage handling and security.
‘This problem is going to continue particularly at airports like Gatwick and Heathrow right throughout the summer. It will be worse at weekends and better during the week,’ 他告诉天空新闻.
Mr O’Leary said that 25 per cent of Ryanair flights last weekend were delayed by air traffic control issues, 还有一个 15 per cent by airports handling delays.
He added that Brexit was compounding the disruption caused as demand ramps up after pandemic restrictions were lifted, with airports unable to hire workers from abroad to fill posts.
Heathrow and Gatwick have urged airlines to cancel thousands of flights this summer as they fight to regain control, while easyJet started axing 10,000 flights to European holiday hotspots including Greece, Italy and Spain from July through to September.
In another blow to travellers, easyJet’s Spain-based cabin crew will go on strike for nine days in July if their demands for higher pay from the budget airline are not met.
Workers will walk out on July 1-3, 15-17, 和 29-31, potentially adding to travel woes as the sector struggles to cope with rebounding demand.
The airline’s flight attendants in Spain are demanding a 40 per cent increase in their basic salaries, according to union USO.
Transport Minister Grant Schapps said it was ‘crucial’ that holidaymakers are not left stranded when the systems can’t deliver. He pledged to do everything he could to help stop the chaos ahead of summer travels
Ryanair’s boss yesterday warned that chaos at Britain’s big airports will continue ‘right throughout the summer’ amid scenes of mayhem at Manchester and Heathrow
The announcement comes as passengers continue to face chaos at UK airports, as understaffed airports struggle to cope.
EasyJet has announced it would be cutting an estimated 11,000 flights from its summer schedules, which analysts think will cost the company between £100 million and £200 million this year.
It comes after the former boss of British Airways said Heathrow is ‘not capable of delivering the basic product they are due to deliver’.
Willie Walsh said of Heathrow, Schiphol in Amsterdam and Dublin: ‘It is interesting that the three airports I mention in terms of significant charging increases are also the three that have experienced the most disruption in recent weeks.
‘It really does lead you to question the management executives of these airports that are not even capable of delivering the basic product they produce. I will continue to call on these airports to get their acts in order.’
