GROUNDED
Boss of Manchester Airport QUITS after another day of travel chaos & warnings of queues lasting for MONTHS
THE boss in charge of Manchester Airport has quit after yet another day of travel chaos and warnings that passengers will face delays for months to come.
Families attempting to get away for the Easter break have been stuck in more queues today after days of problems cause mayhem for holidaymakers.
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Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which owns Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports, has confirmed this afternoon that managing director Karen Smart has decided to leave the business after eight years.
But despite her decision to bail, there'll be no respite for customers desperate to get away.
Long queues and delays could continue for months as a result of Covid staff shortages and a slow return to recruitment.
Police may even be drafted in to help solve the crisis.
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Ms Smart stepped down after Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer challenged management to "get a grip or get out".
MAG announced this afternoon that she has decided to return to the south of England, where her family is based, to "pursue fresh career opportunities". Her interim replacement has already been announced.
MAG CEO Charlie Cornish said he was "sorry" to lose Ms Smart, but added: "I understand her desire to return to the south for family reasons and indeed to explore new career opportunities".
Speaking after more havoc today, general secretary of pilots union BALPA Martin Chalk said: "The chaos witnessed at British airports may well be repeated throughout the summer because airlines, laden with debt, have not yet rehired enough staff.”
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He added that he "warned ministers" of Easter disruption, but nothing was done to prevent it.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said they are even debating drafting in police and fire service to tackle the chaos, telling the BBC: "I have been in touch with colleagues at Greater Manchester Police at the weekend to see what we can do to support the airport."
Some airline industry figures have for the staff shortages, because the security vetting process is taking several weeks longer than usual.
Huge queues built in the early hours of the morning across Manchester Airport this morning, as hundreds of people waited to get to their flights as early as 3:30am.
One woman tweeted a video of the long queues, commenting: "Well this is a birthday treat at 4.45am at #ManchesterAirport.
BOSS BAILS OUT
"This is just the queue for security, starting outside the building. It takes me 1m24 to walk the length of this bit of the queue."
One Twitter user added: "Chaos at #ManchesterAirport this morning security queue of around 1000 people outside at 4.50am. Inside confusion with people unclear where to check in and where to queue."
Another person wrote: "If you never see me again.... I'm still in the queue at the airport #manchesterairport total disgrace."
"Queue snaking for miles out side the terminal building for security."
Passengers are even changing their flights to other airports - Raj Singh told the BBC he moved his flights to London Luton due to having "zero confidence" with Manchester Airport.
If you never see me again, it's because I'm still in the queue at the airport
Manchester Airport has blamed their delays on staffing issues, when holidaymakers were seen "jumping over barriers" and trays piling up at security scanners over the weekend.
It comes just hours after easyJet and British Airways were forced to cancel hundreds of flights, due to staffing issues.
And British Airways has reduced its schedule between now and the end of May to try and avoid more travel problems, after thousands of passengers had their flight cancelled due to IT issues.
The issues aren't just a UK issue; at Dublin airport this weekend travellers complained of missed flights because of lengthy queues at airport security.
A spokesperson has blamed the issues on a struggle to rehire staff after a number of employees were let go during the pandemic.
A source at another airport said, according to the : “For passengers, the travel experience is going to feel different to what they were used to [pre-pandemic]."
And it isn't just the airports facing problems - the suspension of P&O services saw queues up to nine hours over the weekend coming into Dover.
Even the Eurotunnel was hit with delays up to three hours after a train stopped in the tunnel.
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Here's what you should do if your flight is cancelled.
And we've explained how to claim compensation if you flight is delayed or cancelled.
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