Manchester Airport boss warns queues could continue for weeks

People will be ready to put up with queues over the next few weeks so they can go on holiday, says Manchester Airport’s deputy chief executive.

Travelers have recently had to endure long waits at check-in and through security, with the airport blaming understaffing.

Ken O’Toole told the BBC the chaotic scenes at the airport last weekend were “an isolated incident”.

However, he warned that some people could still face wait times of up to 90 minutes in the next month or so.

As the travel organization Abta announced, travel bookings for this year are approaching the level before the pandemic. For example, Jet2, the second largest holiday operator in the UK, operates more flights at Easter than in 2019.

Mr O’Toole said the speed of recovery for the travel sector since Covid restrictions were eased has surprised the airport and left it understaffed.

He said 220 new staff had been hired, who are currently being trained and will start work in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, he urged travelers to be prepared for longer waits and to arrive three hours in advance to ensure they don’t miss their flights over the Easter holidays.

“We want to protect the full flight schedule. We want to make sure that after two years of not getting away, people can go on the trips that they have booked,” he said.

“Unfortunately that means there are occasional queues that are unacceptable, that’s not what we’re aiming for.

“But the trade-off between this situation or canceling a lot of flights for people – which other airports have been doing in recent weeks – we think people would prefer to accept a queue and make sure they get away with it.”

It comes after the airline regulator’s chief wrote to UK airlines expressing frustration and concern at holidaymakers.

“While we are through the worst of the pandemic and consumers are embracing the freedom to travel, instances of late cancellations and excessive delays at airports are not only worrying for affected consumers, but have the potential to hurt levels of confidence across the industry,” Richard Moriarty, the chief executive officer of the civil aviation authority, wrote on Thursday.

He urged airlines and airports to work together to ensure disruption is “kept to a minimum”.

Mr Moriarty also stressed that airlines should offer passengers the choice of a refund or alternative travel arrangements with their airline or another airline if plans are disrupted.

The warning came after EasyJet canceled dozens of flights every day this week, blaming Covid absences. British Airways has also canceled some flights, although most were booked in advance.

Ferry passengers have also experienced disruption as the unannounced layoffs of hundreds of P&O Ferries employees have put pressure on other operators while demand for travel has increased.

Mr O’Toole acknowledged the next four to six weeks would still be a “difficult time” for Manchester Airport, with some passengers facing queues of 60 to 90 minutes.

But he said the majority would only wait 30 to 40 minutes, compared with a target of 15 minutes in normal times, while some people would get through quicker.

When asked why other airports weren’t facing such serious disruptions, Mr O’Toole suggested there were problems “across the sector” but Manchester had been hit by problems earlier because it was recovering faster than its competitors.

On Tuesday, Manchester Airports Group said its chief executive, Karen Smart, had resigned amid criticism of long security and check-in queues that resulted in some passengers missing flights.

The problems first came to light in mid-March when travelers had to wait for hours and some were forced to queue outside in the car park.

Travel organization Abta said its members are reporting holiday bookings returning to pre-pandemic levels.

An Abta spokesman said: “Easter is normally a busy travel time and we expect that to be the case again this year, especially as this is the first public holiday where you don’t have to take any action in relation to Covid. 19 requirements when returning to the UK.”

Airport Operators Association chief Karen Dee also said she was pleased to see passengers returning in large numbers.

“This late surge in bookings was partly caused by the fact that the government only lifted the last remaining travel restrictions on March 18,” she suggested.

She added that staff shortages and the fact that many passengers are still required to present Covid-related documents at check-in are increasing the time it takes to get around airports.

“Airports are putting all available staff on the front line,” she said.

“This means that although the journey through the airport can be busy, for most passengers the airports get them safely on their vacation.”