Flight cancellations news latest: Tui customers ‘abandoned’ and easyJet planes grounded

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British holidaymakers hoping to jet off this week face continuing travel disruption across the UK, with widespread airport queues, flight delays and cancellations.

Britain’s biggest budget airline, easyJet, has canceled at least 40 domestic and European flights on Wednesday – mainly to and from its biggest base, London Gatwick airport.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that police were called in to help hundreds of Tui passengers “abandoned” on the runway at Manchester airport for three hours on Sunday.

Grant Shapps is the latest politician to weigh in, laying the blame for the chaos squarely on the travel industry.

The transport secretary accused airlines and tour operators of “seriously overselling flights and holidays”.

He said he’d meet 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”.

“Despite government warnings, operators seriously oversold flights and holidays relative to their capacity to deliver. This must not happen again and all efforts should be directed at there being no repeat of this over the summer – the first post-Covid summer season,” said Mr Shapps.

Key pointsShow latest update 1654086250Tube strike set to go ahead on Monday

Union leaders are calling for urgent talks with London Mayor Sadiq Khan in a bid to avert a 24-hour Tube strike.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union are set to walk out on Monday, threatening travel chaos immediately after the Jubilee weekend.

The union is protesting over job cuts and a “looming threat” to pensions.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “We are demanding a direct face to face meeting with Mayor Sadiq Khan to sort this mess out.

“There’s no point in our union continuing to sit opposite management representatives who have neither the inclination nor the authority to negotiate a settlement, when the power lies with the Mayor.

“The Mayor of London has tax-raising powers. Just four banks made a profit of £34bn last year and are set to pay out over £4bn in bonuses to London traders. A windfall tax on those profits would more than adequately fund London’s transport network.

“Mayor Khan must choose either the take on the Tory government and demand a just funding deal for Londoners or attack loyal Tube workers who keep the capital moving day in day out.”

1654083995New high-speed train to connect Paris and Berlin in seven hours

In slightly more positive news for travelers, an exciting new high-speed rail link will improve the interrailing experience from next year – covering the 545 miles between Paris and Berlin.

French rail operator SNCF and German operator Deutsche Bahn announced the link in a joint statement last week, with SNCF’s CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou this week saying the journey will take around seven hours.

“We want to launch a TGV Paris-Berlin in December 2023,” Mr Farandou told Agence-France-Presse.

Lucy Thackray1 June 2022 12:46

1654080658Father says his terminally-ill daughter’s holiday has been ruined by TUI cancellation

A father has said a “special holiday” for his terminally ill daughter was canceled by TUI as they sat on the runway waiting for their plane to take off.

Huw Davies, from Porthcawl, had booked a holiday to Tenerife from Cardiff aiport with travel agency TUI but was “absolutely devastated” after the flight was cancelled.

He claimed he had boarded the flight with eleven other family members for the getaway, which his daughter chose in memory of her late mother.

“This was a family outing for my daughter who has terminal cancer,” he told Wales Online. “It was going to be her last family holiday – and we just got booted off this flight.”

Read the full story here:

Holly Bancroft1 June 2022 11:50

165408063050 pensioners lose first holiday since lockdown when easyJet cancels flight

A group of more than 50 pensioners flew off on their first holiday since lockdown only to end up back where they started 12 hours later following a nightmare day on easyJet.

The group, aged 75 to 92, were supposed to be flying to the Isle of Man from Gatwick after getting there from their homes in Kent.

But their flight had to land in Manchester due to high winds and after a three and a half hour wait it was canceled and they were flown back to Gatwick.

1654079721Long queues reported at St Pancras Eurostar this morning

Queues are snaking out of St Pancras station this morning as people wait to get the Eurostar.

Travelers reported waiting for three hours yesterday, with Svenja O’Donnell saying: “The queue is through the whole station and down two blocks. We have been given very little information.”

Holly Bancroft1 June 2022 11:35

1654078408Ryanair flights from Stansted could face serious disruption this summer

Ryanair flights from Stansted could face serious disruption this summer, a union has warned.

Unite represents workers employed by the ground handler Blue Handling, which provides baggage handling, check-in and other services to Ryanair at Stansted.

Having been hit with a 10 per cent pay cut in 2020, employees have rejected a 4 per cent pay rise offer and could strike over the summer period if their demands are not met.

Blue Handling employs around 750 workers and handles around 200 flights a day during the summer holiday season.

A crunch meeting is due to take place today between union representatives and management.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Given the chaos in the airline sector, it is unbelievable and irresponsible that Blue Handling is still refusing to pay decent wages. Unite’s members are ready for strike action. We now expect Blue Handling to step up and pay these workers fairly.”

Helen Coffey1 June 2022 11:13

1654077654Labour accuses government of being “missing in action” during travel chaos

Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, has accused the Government of being “missing in action” as queues at ports and airports continue to mount, hampering travel and trade.

Labor has written to the Government setting out steps to tackle the disruption causing chaos.

“Brits have been facing weeks of travel and trade disruption, and the Conservatives are missing in action,” said Ms Haigh.

“Tory Ministers can’t even get the basics right.

“They should show some responsibility, do their job, and take concrete steps to tackle the chaos growing on their watch.”

Helen Coffey1 June 2022 11:00

1654076176How many hours should I arrive before my flight?

As the UK and Ireland’s airports and airlines struggle to process the wave of holidaymakers jetting off this spring, a worrying image has emerged. Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Gatwick and Dublin have all seen worried customers waiting in longer than usual lines.

It’s understandable that you might want to check in as early as possible to avoid getting caught up in the chaos. However, airport bosses are warning that getting to the terminal too early can clog up queues and prevent people with earlier flights than yours getting through – adding even more to the stress levels.

So how early should you arrive for your flight?

See our guide for what the UK and Ireland’s airlines and airports are advising:

Lucy Thackray1 June 2022 10:36

1654074951Manchester airport described as ‘carnage’ this morning

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 a shortage of ground crew, there’s going to be another delay of approximately 50 minutes.”

1654073352All the British Airways flights canceled today

British Airways has canceled 114 short-haul flights to and from its main base, London Heathrow airport on Wednesday.

The Independent calculates 22 domestic flights have been grounded, including two round-trips from Heathrow to Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Ninety-two international flights are cancelled, including three round-trips from Heathrow to Amsterdam and holiday flights to Ibiza and Malaga.

Click here for the full list:

Simon Calder1 June 2022 09:49

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