Thousands of holidaymakers face summer travel chaos as Heathrow cancels 30 flights

Thousands of holidaymakers face summer travel chaos as Heathrow cancels 30 flights

The cancellations could affect up to 6,400 people due to fly out from Heathrow on Thursday, according to aviation data firm Cirium

Poppy Wood - i-News

Passengers have complained of huge queues at Heathrow in recent days as the airport struggles with an industry-wide labour shortage (Photo: Henry Nicholls/Reuters)

Heathrow Airport has cancelled 30 flights carrying up to 6,400 passengers on Thursday morning as it struggles with staff shortages in the face of soaring demand.

A spokesperson for Heathrow said it expected passenger numbers on Thursday morning to be higher “than the airport currently has capacity to serve”.
“We will work with airlines to get affected passengers re-booked onto other flights outside of the peak so that as many as possible can get away tomorrow, and we apologise for the impact this has on travel plans,” they added.
The cancellations could affect up to 6,400 people due to fly out from Heathrow on Thursday, according to aviation data firm Cirium.

British Airways said it was forced to cancel 19 flights following the announcement, with a further seven cancelled on Wednesday evening.
The airline blamed staff shortages at Heathrow’s security desks for the disruption, noting that many passengers missed their flights on Wednesday after being held up in long queues.

Videos shared on social media showed hundreds of people snaking around Terminal 5’s duty free lounge up to the British Airways’ customer service desk as passengers tried to rebook flights and claim refunds.
A British Airways spokesperson told i that Wednesday was a “messy day” at Heathrow, as the airport grapples with staffing issues in the wake of the pandemic.

Passengers told i earlier this week of “horrific” queues and piles of unattended luggage at the airport amid reports of a shortage of baggage handlers.

Many people complained of being left without their luggage for days on end as a result. Heathrow said the baggage mountain was due to a technical error after images and videos posted on social media showed hundreds of suitcases lined up inside terminals.

It comes as the aviation industry braces for a summer of travel chaos with labour shortages biting into soaring demand for holidays abroad.

Unions have also threatened summer strikes at airports unless they are awarded improved working conditions and pay in line with inflation.

British Airways last week became the latest airline to announce strike action during the peak holiday period, after more than 700 check-in staff and ground crew working at Heathrow voted for industrial action.

Although dates for a potential walkout are yet to be announced, the GMB and Unite unions have said they will time strikes to coincide with the start of the summer holidays in mid-July.

Unions must give two weeks’ notice before walking out, meaning strike action may not start until the third week of July at the earliest.

More than 9,000 British Airways flights with almost 1.8 million passengers are due to leave Heathrow in July, according to data from Cirium.

It could mean that around 58,000 passengers will be affected by travel disruption for each day of industrial action this summer.

The dispute centres around a 10 per cent wage cut imposed by British Airways on Heathrow employees during the pandemic, which unions want reinstated.

British Airways is understood to have offered a one-off payment of 10 per cent, but GMB argues this is for a single year rather than a permanent reinstatement of workers’ pre-pandemic salary.
The airline is trying to heal from losses of more than £4bn, with pandemic-related staff shortages paving a bumpy road to recovery.

The aviation industry made thousands of employees redundant during the pandemic and many have yet to be replaced, despite a sharp rise in demand for travel.

Ground-handling companies employed by airlines to manage check-in areas, turn aircraft around on the airfield and handle baggage are understood to be the primary concern.

Industry figures have also blamed the travel chaos on difficulty clearing new recruits through background security checks, after demand for flights catapulted when restrictions were lifted after the pandemic.

The teething problems are likely to last until the industry has made up for the labour shortfall created in the wake of the pandemic, with disruption set to peak over the busy summer months.