Airport chaos – live: Easter breaks disrupted with yet more UK flights cancelled

Going on holiday abroad 40 per cent cheaper than a UK break, says exchange firm

Hopping on a plane for a holiday is 40 per cent cheaper on average than a UK “staycation”, according to one currency exchange firm.

FairFX compared the costs of holidays to popular European destinations including France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal with the costs of a staycation in the UK, and found that all European holiday destinations examined were considerably cheaper than a trip within the UK.

The European breaks offered significantly better value for money, with an entire holiday abroad for five days for under £1,000. The average cost for a holiday abroad (£814) was revealed to be 40 per cent less than a staycation in the UK (£1,143).

France proved to be most affordable, with accommodation, flights and the average cost for visiting an attraction on TripAdvisor costing just £652 per person - 70 per cent less than the cheapest UK destination investigated (Scotland).

All destinations researched were based on a holiday taking place during the UK’s Easter holidays, between 14-18 April 2022.

Lucy Thackray7 April 2022 15:53

Air France plane ‘went nuts’ before aborted landing, cockpit audio reveals

Air safety investigators have opened an enquiry into an Air France flight after it aborted landing on Tuesday, with cockpit audio revealing pilots said the plane was “going nuts”.

Pilots appeared to struggle to control the Boeing 777 on descent into Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, with a recording from the cockpit capturing a fraught exchange between crew and air traffic control.

Officers are heard saying “Wait! stop stop!” and then “I’ll call you back! I’ll call you back!” while emergency alarms sound in the background.

One pilot adds: “The aeroplane is pretty much going nuts.”

Read the full story here:

Lucy Thackray7 April 2022 15:34

easyJet cancels almost 50 flights for Friday – so far

Britain’s biggest budget airline continues to struggle to resource its flights. At Gatwick, easyJet has cancelled 28 flights on Friday. While most are to destinations with multiple daily flights such as Jersey, Berlin and Milan, the grounded flights include hard-to-reach destinations such as Agadir in Morocco.

Ten links to and from Luton are cancelled on Friday, including two Amsterdam round-trips and flights to Belfast international, Milan Malpensa and Bodrum.

From Bristol, links with Krakow and Dubrovnik are grounded, while at Manchester flights to Hamburg and Berlin are also cancelled.

Like British Airways, which is cancelling similar numbers of flights, easyJets blame staff shortages due to Covid-19.

Yet other short-haul airlines – such as Ryanair, Wizz Air and Jet2 – do not seem to be having similar problems.

Regardless of the cause and the amount of notice given, the standard rule when a flight is cancelled is that you are entitled to travel on the original day of departure.

If the cancelling airline cannot get you there on its own planes, and a seat is available on another carrier’s flight, it must pay for your trip on its rival airline.

Simon Calder7 April 2022 15:11

Manchester Airport asks customers to ‘play their part’ to avoid queues

Manchester Airport has posted another Twitter thread urging customers to “play their part” in helping to avoid queues, following days of customer complaints about long waits in its terminals.

“As we continue to recover from the pandemic & passenger numbers grow, security queues may be longer than usual at times. We apologise to customers who have been impacted by the recent disruption,” says the statement.

They go on to “ask all customers to play their part” by remembering to separate hand-luggage liquids and ensure they’re under 100ml and remove electrical items to be placed in a tray (both standard security rules), as well as limiting their luggage and using as few security trays as possible.

They also appear to advise against arriving earlier than your allocated check-in time, saying “Passengers who turn up too far in advance may have to wait before check-in opens.”

Lucy Thackray7 April 2022 14:19

‘Abandoned’ US cabin crew forced to sleep on floor of airport

Airlines “abandoned” crew when a recent spell of severe weather saw hundreds of services get cancelled across the country, according to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA).

Representing 28,000 US flight attendants, the organisation said that in recent days “Crew members were forced to sleep on the floor in the airport because they were unable to reach the hotel/limo desk.”

Airlines cancelled more than 3,500 US flights last weekend, citing weather in Florida and other issues.

Read the full story:

Helen Coffey7 April 2022 13:42

How to plan for disrupted luggage

As Easter travel chaos continues due to the increasing amount of flight cancellations and staff shortages across UK airports, many travellers are finding themselves without their luggage. Hundreds of passengers across the country are ending up separated from their baggage for hours or even days, as baggage claim areas pile up.

Paul Stewart, managing director at MyBaggage, advises travellers to “stay calm” if they get separated from their luggage.

“There are plenty of options that can make a big difference in approaching lost luggage with the most important being reporting the problem to your airline immediately as you’re more likely to get compensation,” he says.

“Call the airline directly about your lost luggage and leave your contact information with them so they can give you updates. Most airlines will deliver your luggage to your home so make sure to request this. However, if you’re not happy with the airlines’ response, you can take your claim further and complain to the Civil Aviation Authority.

“In some cases, if your travel or home insurance covers luggage, it’ll be better off making a claim through your insurance as you’ll likely get further with the claim.”

He also advised those flying this week to “pack lightly” and “travel with hand-held luggage only or using courier services to avoid this travel problem, as you won’t need to worry about checking any bags in at the airport.”

Mr Stewart added: “Keep your valuables with you such as jewellery and electronics to avoid these being lost. However, if you are taking checked luggage, make sure it’s instantly recognisable to you that way you can avoid other passengers taking your luggage.” 

Helen Coffey7 April 2022 13:31

British Airways cancels at least 40 flights to and from Heathrow on Friday

At the end of a week in which it has cancelled hundreds of domestic and European flights, British Airways has already grounded at least 40 flights to and from Heathrow on Friday.

The Independent understands that these cancellations were typically made with two weeks’ warning to passengers, who were offered refunds or transfers to other flights.

Milan Malpensa is once again the leading “victim”, with a morning, afternoon and evening departure cancelled.

To and from Toulouse in southwest France, two of the four daily services are grounded.

The only route so far on which there are no other BA services is to Krakow at 7.40am. Passengers are entitled to be transferred to other airlines that do have flights on Friday.

Domestic cancellations so far comprise single flights between Heathrow and Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle.

Simon Calder7 April 2022 12:52

What are your rights if you miss a flight due to airport queues?

With some passengers reporting missed flights over the past week due to queues and security chaos at the UK’s airports, many readers are asking The Independent what recourse they can take in this scenario.

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder explains, “If you get to the departure gate and miss the flight - even through no fault of your own - airlines have no legal obligation to help you.

“Some will allow you to transfer to a later flight if there is any space available, which sadly is increasingly unlikely.”

If you are worried about airport congestion this Easter holiday, here’s what you can do to avoid missing a flight - and what action you can take if you do:

Lucy Thackray7 April 2022 12:06

Family loses £1,500 on flights after getting stuck in Manchester Airport queues

A British family embarking on their first overseas holiday since the pandemic began has lost out on a £1,500 spend after getting stuck in Manchester Airport’s mega-queues.

Mum Michelle Donohue described the experience of missing out on a four-day trip to Rome as “traumatic”, as passengers jostled to get through four-hour security queues.

She had booked the trip to Rome with her husband Robert and 12-year-old son, leaving on 5 April.

Despite arriving in plenty of time for their 7.15am Ryanair flight, they were met by a “nightmare” four-hour wait at security.

Read the full story here:

Lucy Thackray7 April 2022 11:42

What are the latest travel rules for Spain?

Confusion reigned in Spain yesterday – first it was announced that all unvaccinated British tourists would finally be allowed into the country, provided they had a negative test.

Next minute, the tourist board had done a full 180, apologising “unreservedly for the miscommunication earlier today which was due to a misunderstanding of the new entry requirements”.

So what are Spain’s current travel rules – and can Brits go on holiday there? Here’s everything you need to know.

Helen Coffey7 April 2022 10:59

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