- More flight delays and cancellations on Wednesday
- Extinction Rebellion protests trigger fuel crisis at Birmingham airport
- How to avoid Easter travel chaos
Dozens more flights from UK airports have been cancelled today as holidaymakers continue to grapple with travel disruption over the Easter break.
So far at least 17 British Airways flights from Heathrow have been axed, including services to Paris, Rome and Amsterdam. EasyJet has scrapped a host of flights from Gatwick, while nearly all of its departures on Wednesday morning were delayed. Its CEO Johan Lundgren blamed Covid absences and problems clearing new crew to start work.
The ongoing chaos comes after one airport recruitment expert warned that staffing issues could continue to wreak havoc for at least a year.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Kully Sandhu, the managing director of Aviation Recruitment Network Limited, said: “My personal opinion, it is going to take at least the next 12 months for the industry vacancy-wise to settle down.”
More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled since the start of the Easter holidays and many of those managing to travel continue to face long queues at the UK’s major airports.
Scroll down for the latest updates.
British Airways tries to poach cabin crew with £1,000 ‘welcome bonus’
British Airways is trying to lure cabin crew with security clearances from rivals with a £1,000 “welcome bonus” amid ferocious competition for staff, reports Oliver Gill.
With airlines struggling to fill staff vacancies, the flag carrier has raised the stakes by advertising for cabin crew “with attestation and hold a current Heathrow or Stansted airside ID”.
The job description states: “For candidates who are successfully offered a role through this campaign, we’re offering a welcome bonus of £1,000 – paid in two instalments – £500 after your first three months, £500 after six months in role.”
Sources at rivals claimed this was an attempt by BA to poach their staff.
Majority of EasyJet flights from Gatwick delayed this morning
Credit:
PA
According to FlightRadar24, only a handful of EasyJet’s Gatwick departures have been cancelled so far today (services to Amsterdam at 0600, Preveza at 0610, Bologna at 0635, Berlin at 0640 and Kefalonia at 0745).
However, most have faced delays. Of the 27 EasyJet flights scheduled between 0600 and 0700, for example, just five left on time. The longest delay was faced by passengers on the 0615 departure to Zurich, which didn’t take off until 0735.
Full list of BA cancellations from Heathrow on Wednesday
The following BA services have been axed from the UK’s busiest airport today. The airline previously said it has reduced services on its most frequently flown routes so that passengers are able to travel on the same day where possible.
Heathrow-Dusseldorf 0640
Heathrow-Basel 0650
Heathrow-Frankfurt 0705
Heathrow-Milan Linate 0715
Heathrow-Oslo 0735
Heathrow-Dusseldorf 0740
Heathrow-Toulouse 0750
Heathrow-Aberdeen 0755
Heathrow-Rome 0820
Heathrow-Amsterdam 0820
Heathrow-Berlin 0845
Heathrow-Hamburg 1230
Heathrow-Dublin 1510
Heathrow-Geneva 1515
Heathrow-Brussels 1555
Heathrow-Glasgow 1620
Heathrow-Paris 2045
Priti Patel was warned about Easter travel chaos a month ago
Priti Patel was warned a month ago about a looming wave of travel chaos after passport control staff were sent to deal with the Dover migrant crisis instead, reports Oliver Gill.
Airline chiefs told the Home Secretary in March that a lack of Border Force workers could spark massive passenger queues at terminals across Britain.
Airlines UK, the trade body for the likes of British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair, said last month in a leaked letter to Ms Patel that urgent action was needed to prevent mayhem as summer schedules began in April. The letter suggested that Border Force – which is responsible for immigration and customs checks – had also raised concerns internally.