HOLIDAYMAKERS across the North East and beyond face more chaos on the eve of the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend.
Their plans are now up in the air after flights have been cancelled left, right and centre.
More than 150 UK flights were cancelled on Wednesday and passengers who could travel were forced to wait in long queues at airports.
EasyJet cancelled at least 31 flights at Gatwick, including to destinations such as Bologna, Barcelona, Prague, Krakow and Edinburgh.
Read more: Darlington worker leaves House of Fraser after 34 years - and you might recognise her
Tui Airways is continuing to cancel six daily flights at Manchester Airport, which represents a quarter of its schedule.
One EasyJet passenger tweeted a photograph from Manchester Airport at 4am showing a long queue of people in a car park outside Terminal 1.
He described the situation as “carnage”, adding: “Took two hours 45 minutes to get through – most of that was bag drop. Now on the aircraft, but due to shortage of ground crew, there’s going to be another delay of approximately 50 minutes.”
Another EasyJet passenger said they had to wait for two hours and 40 minutes to receive their luggage after landing at Gatwick Airport shortly before 3am.
Read more: Everything we know after Darlington fire destroys home and leaves family with nothing
Airline passengers have been hit by disruption for several months, with the situation worsening this week due to the rise in demand sparked by the half-term school holiday and the four-day Platinum Jubilee weekend.
The aviation industry is suffering from staff shortages after letting thousands of people go during the coronavirus pandemic.
Airlines and airports repeatedly called for sector-specific financial support during the Covid-19 crisis as Government travel restrictions suppressed demand.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps claimed travel firms have “seriously oversold flights and holidays relative to their capacity to deliver.”
Read more: 'We're devastated': Darlington family left with nothing after fire destroys their home
He added: “This must not happen again and all efforts should be directed at there being no repeat of this over the summer.”
Mr Shapps has demanded a meeting with airports, airlines and ground handlers to “find out what’s gone wrong and how they are planning to end the current run of cancellations and delays.”
Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said the aviation industry did not know when restrictions would be completely removed or how much flying would be possible this summer.
It added that “the vast majority of the many tens of thousands of UK-departing flights a week” are operating as scheduled.
Read more: Darlington students' volunteer work celebrated at college awards ceremony
Consumer group Which? has warned that the “blame game” over flight disruption is “no help” to passengers.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The UK’s airports are in crisis because thousands of jobs have been slashed and working conditions attacked.
“Our money was handed over to firms without any strings attached. Literally hundreds of millions went to the aviation sector during the pandemic, and instead of bringing stability those firms have brought us chaos.
“They did not protect jobs, many just used public money to prop up their share price or to pay for ‘fire and rehire’ to hammer pay and conditions. That is why we are where we are.
“It’s time for public money to have a hard-wire link to jobs. No more handouts without responsibilities. Taxpayers do not pay firms to sack their workers and cut their pay and condition.”
If you're in the North East and have been affected, please email newsdesk@nne.co.uk to let us know!
--
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here