What’s causing flight disruption this Easter?

International travel for the Easter holidays got off to a rocky start.

Thousands of people making their first trip abroad since coronavirus restrictions ended have faced long queues, delays and, in some cases, canceled flights.

Some airports and airlines have struggled as passenger numbers gradually return to pre-pandemic levels.

And industry leaders have warned that the situation will not improve for some time.

Manchester Airport appears to have been hardest hit after the problems that emerged last weekend, while Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham have also been hit by delays and cancellations.

Travelers at Manchester Airport described scenes of “chaos” after several missed their flights and warned emergency services workers could be drafted in to help resolve the issues.

The disruption led to the airport’s chief executive, Karen Smart, announcing her resignation.

Donna Mayfield queued for three hours at Manchester Airport but still missed her flight to Spain to see her 83-year-old mother for the first time since lockdown began.

She said the situation was “terrible,” while another traveler said she saw “customers and staff in tears.”

Former Monarch Airlines boss Tim Jeans, who is now director of Cornwall Airport Newquay, told BBC Today it appeared Manchester Airport had no real plans to pre-hire and train staff.

Passengers at Birmingham Airport also complained about long queues for arrivals and departures. The airport apologized and said standards had not been met.

As Covid led to the government imposing lockdowns and travel restrictions, airport operations around the world were grounded and aircraft fleets grounded.

The furlough scheme helped but failed to fully protect the airline industry from the devastating effects, with thousands of airline and airport job losses. British Airways has cut more than 10,000 jobs, while EasyJet has closed its bases in Stansted, Southend and Newcastle with the loss of 670 jobs.

Amid job insecurity, some workers decided to make career changes.

But as borders reopened and demand for flights returned, the industry struggled to hire new staff quickly enough.

According to the Airport Operators Association (AOA), reasons for the weakened workforce are a “combination of a very tight labor market, delays in the necessary government security checks for new and returning employees and Covid-related staff shortages”. , representing most UK airports from Heathrow to Edinburgh.

One Resourcing, a specialist aviation and airport recruitment company, told the BBC it was proving very difficult to find sufficient ground staff, including cleaners and baggage handlers.

Her boss Kevin O’Reilly said some other jobs were luring workers away and some EU citizens left after Brexit.

“It’s always been a tough market to find recruitment, but this year it’s gotten tougher,” he said.

“Recruitment at airports doesn’t happen overnight, people have to go through a thorough security vetting process to get an airside pass,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cornwall Airport Newquay chief Mr Jeans said it takes on average at least 12 weeks to hire and train new security staff.

But staff shortages aren’t the only issue airports highlight as a cause of queues.

Covid documents are still required by many countries which has extended check-in times and ironically when people show up early it only leads to queues.

John Strickland, director of transport consultancy JLS Consulting, said the situation for airlines will become “very difficult” in the coming months.

Karen Dee, chief executive of the AOA, said that at peak times passengers “may not have the experience they are used to”.

She said airports were working hard to recruit more staff in the run-up to the Easter holidays and were “working with the UK Government to address delays in required checks before staff can start work”.

Britain’s largest airport, Heathrow, said peak demand could reach 85% of pre-pandemic levels over the summer holidays, raising concerns about capacity.

Elsewhere, Edinburgh Airport has also warned holidaymakers to expect queues and disruption in the summer when it returns to full operation.

And it’s not just UK airports being hit by delays – Dublin Airport has advised travelers to arrive three and a half hours before their flight due to similar issues.

A number of well-known airlines, including EasyJet and British Airways, canceled flights weeks in advance, but in the run up to Easter some flights were grounded at the last minute.

Package tour operators appear to be less affected. For example, Jet2 reports that its schedule is working as planned.

EasyJet has attributed hundreds of its cancellations to Covid-related staff absences, including cabin crew and pilots.

Meanwhile, BA has canceled fewer flights at short notice due to Covid. But it made the decision two weeks ago to thin out its April and May schedules to take some of the pressure off.

BA also had other problems. There have been several IT outages in recent weeks causing travel delays and flights to Moscow have been suspended due to the war in Ukraine.

The resumption of some long-haul routes has also been delayed due to the Covid situation in other parts of the world.

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