Travellers hoping to enjoy a half-term getaway have continued to be hit by cancelled flights as drivers were warned to expect long delays on major roads.
Passengers stranded at Gatwick have expressed their anger after easyJet cancelled more than 200 flights from the airport at short notice during one of the year’s busier travel periods. Tui also axed a number of flights.
The airport and the airlines appeared to be blaming each other for the cancellations.
On Monday, Gatwick said there were “no significant queues for check-in, security or immigration”.
However, Amanda Ferguson, a stranded passenger, said scenes at the airport on Monday morning were “crazy” after she and her boyfriend’s flight to Belfast was cancelled on Sunday.
The couple, who travelled to London to see an Abba concert on Friday, have been forced to return home via Glasgow.
Ferguson, a Belfast-based TV broadcaster, said: “We were due to be at the airport yesterday for a seven o’clock flight. When we tried to scan our boarding passes, we were told the flight was cancelled.”
Speaking to the Guardian, she said: “The girl on the check-in desk was obviously pretty frazzled because people had been giving her grief all day. Another frazzled member of staff was handing out a two-page document on what to do next.”
Ferguson and her partner were initially offered a hotel room in Southend, 90 minutes away. They were given a room near the airport only when they got through to the airline by phone after waiting for an hour, she said.
Speaking from Glasgow airport after a 5am flight on Monday morning, Ferguson described the experience as “testing”.
She added: “Some people were really losing it at the airport, and you could see the faces of the poor staff. It was not their fault. My patience is wearing a little bit thin. I just want to get home and get into bed.”
At least 32 Gatwick flights were cancelled on Monday, including some with only an hour’s notice.
Alan Black, from Havant in Hampshire, was stranded at Gatwick on Monday morning after his easyJet flight from a family wedding in Seville was cancelled.
He tweeted that easyJet staff were blaming a shortage of baggage staff at Gatwick for the cancellation, and said the company had treated passengers “very poorly”.
Camille, a student from Caen in northern France, is trying to get compensation after her easyJet flight was cancelled on Sunday night. She tweeted that no reason was given for the cancellation and that the airline was blaming Gatwick for the issue.
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Gatwick airport told her “airlines decide on flight cancellations, not the airport. You will need to go back to your airline.”
EasyJet’s Twitter feed has been referring dozens of stranded Gatwick passengers to its disruption help hub webpage.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “We have taken the decision to make advance cancellations of around 24 Gatwick flights per day between 28 May until 6 June.
“We are very sorry for the late notice of some of these cancellations and inconvenience caused for customers booked on these flights however we believe this is necessary to provide reliable services over this busy period. Customers have been informed and provided with the option to rebook their flight or receive a refund and can apply for compensation in line with regulations.”
They added: “Separately, last night [Sunday] at Gatwick, like other airlines operating at Gatwick our flying programme was impacted by air traffic control restrictions in place at the airport. The advance cancellations at Gatwick today which were already made last week are unrelated to this.
One stranded Tui ticket-holder, Mark Plowright, tweeted that he felt “let down” by the travel company after being stuck at Gatwick all day on Sunday. Tui apologised for the disruption, which it blamed on “various operational reasons and an extremely busy weekend of planned flying”.
In a statement Tui said: “We would like to apologise to some of our customers who have experienced flight delays in recent days. The May half-term holidays are always a busy period with many customers looking to get away, and this year is no different.
“We understand that many of our customers have been looking forward to these holidays, as it’s the first peak period in more than two years that hasn’t been impacted by border closures and mass testing requirements.
“Our priority is always to take customers on holiday safely. While flight delays and cancellations with us are rare, unfortunately the sudden increase in people going on holidays combined with various operational and supply chain issues, has meant that a small number of our flights have been impacted.
“Our teams have been working tirelessly to support affected customers, through direct communications and providing overnight accommodation and transfers where needed, as well as meals and refreshments.”
A spokesperson for Gatwick airport said: “We did see some security queueing this morning, but it dissipated quickly.” It referred questions about cancellations to easyJet.
Meanwhile, drivers have been told to prepare for long delays on popular routes, with 19.5m journeys planned during the platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend.
A survey by the RAC of 1,460 drivers suggested Friday was likely to be the most congested day on the roads as day trippers combine with families returning home from half-term breaks.
Rod Dennis, an RAC spokesperson, said: “The fact the bank holiday coincides with the end of half-term in many places has the potential to put some extra pressure on the road network, so planning a journey carefully is important to beat the worst of any queues.”
Network Rail normally carries out widespread engineering work during bank holidays but nearly all major lines will remain open during the jubilee celebrations.
Its chief executive, Andrew Haines, said: “We are really pleased to say that all routes into London’s major stations will be open across the Queen’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend.
“We know that demand will be high as people travel into the capital to celebrate this special occasion and our station staff will be on hand to welcome passengers and help them with their journeys.”