Cancelled flights today – live: BA and easyJet axe 180 flights amid travel chaos
Heathow and Gatwick among airports hit by disruption
MikeTyes
Heathow and Gatwick among airports hit by disruption
Queue for Gatwick airport Wetherspoons stretches across departure lounge amid delays
Easyjet and British Airways have axed 180 flights as Britons hoping to get away for a summer break are hit by travel chaos.
Scores of trips - either starting or ending at British airports - have already been cancelled, with the disruption mainly blamed on staff shortages. Aviation strikes in Italy are causing further problems.
Ryanair and Jet2 have also cancelled flights due to aviation strikes in the Mediterranean country. Some 122 of those flights are BA planes, The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder reports.
Major airports including Heathrow and Gatwick have been heavily hit by flight cancellations, with journeys to Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, and Nice among those hit. Bristol Airport is also facing disruption.
The travel sector is grappling with an ongoing issue arising from staff shortages and absences due to sickness.
On Tuesday, British Airways cancelled almost 120 flights to and from Heathrow and easyJet grounded around 60 involving UK airports.
Rail strikes: What impact could they have?
Union members at Network Rail and 13 train operators will stage 24-hour walkouts on 21, 23 and 25 June.
What could the effect be? And are other disputes on the horizon?
Our travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:
Matt Mathers8 June 2022 15:48
Which BA flights have been grounded?
British Airways has cancelled 122 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.
Simon Calder and Helen Coffey report:
Matt Mathers8 June 2022 14:53
More travel chaos on the way
On top of flight disruption in the UK, travellers could be hit rail strikes later this month.
Tens of thousands of railway workers are to stage three days of national strikes, in what their union says will be the biggest walkout since 1989.
My colleagues Helen Coffey and Simon Calder report:
Matt Mathers8 June 2022 14:21
Manchester Airport in ‘disarray from start to finish’, traveller says
Manchester Airport is in “disarray from start to finish”, a passenger has said as he posted a video appearing to show scores of unclaimed suitcases overflowing from a carousel.
Paul Quinn uploaded the video to Twitter on Wednesday morning.
There has been severe disruption at the airport this week due to staff shortages.
Matt Mathers8 June 2022 13:44
Italian union threatens further strikes
A union representing aviation workers in Italy is threatening more industrial action if its demands are not met, in a move that could cause more travel holiday chaos for Britons planning an escape to the Mediterranean this summer.
The Italian Union of Transport Workers, one of the unions involved in today’s strikes, said it would not hesitate to take further action if the government refuses to take action on various issues including pay, sick leave and holidays.
“This will be only the first of a series of protest actions”, the union warned.
Matt Mathers8 June 2022 13:20
Got a burning question about the travel chaos?
Got a burning question about the UK’s ongoing travel chaos?
As rail unions threaten strikes which would add to the misery, Simon Calder, our expert travel correspondent, will be on hand later today to answer all your questions in an ‘Ask me anything’ event.
He will respond to your questions from 4pm. Put your queries in the comments section of the article below and Simon will get to as many of them as possible:
Matt Mathers8 June 2022 13:10
Passengers frustrated as flights cancelled
Disappointed passengers are taking to social media after their flights have been cancelled.
See here:
Zoe Tidman8 June 2022 12:58
Tory MP criticises government handling of sector
Huw Merriman, a Tory MP who chairs the Transport Select Committee, has said the government should have taken more action to prevent air travel chaos.
“I think there’s been a failure to understand that you can’t just flick a switch and expect the aviation industry to restart,” he told the Today programme earlier this morning.
“They only had the full go-ahead on 18 March . There’s a requirement for them to operate 70 per cent of their slots, otherwise they could lose them.
“So, effectively, the government and parliament have told them to restart at those levels but it can take three months to get staff recruited and through the vetting process.”
PA
Zoe Tidman8 June 2022 12:15
Flights cancelled between UK and Italy over strike
EasyJet has axed 20 flights from Gatwick to Italy, including departures to Bologna, Milan, Naples, Rome and Venice.
The airline told passengers: “Although this is outside of our control, we would like to reassure customers that we are doing all possible to minimise any disruption that may occur as a result of the strike action.”
Some 14 flights between London airports and Milan were cancelled by British Airways, while Ryanair scrapped a handful of flights between Italy and Stansted.
A Ryanair spokesman said: “Due to air traffic control strikes at Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Turin, Verona, Genoa, Cuneo and Parma airports, we have regrettably been forced to cancel a number of flights on Wednesday.
Aviation workers who are members of two Italian unions are staging a strike from 10am until 2pm over various issues including pay, sick pay, time off and refreshments.
PA
Zoe Tidman8 June 2022 11:46
What is causing the travel chaos?
Passengers are facing more mass flight cancellations today after around 200 were called off the day before.
The government insists that airlines and airports are to blame. But could Brexit be playing a role in the travel chaos?
Simon Calder, our travel correspondent, takes a look:
Zoe Tidman8 June 2022 11:15
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