SENT PACKING
Bizarre moment sea of unclaimed luggage piles up on ground after falling from airport carousel amid holiday travel chaos
A SEA of unclaimed luggage piled up on the ground after falling from an airport carousel amid further travel chaos.
Numerous suitcases were left strewn across the floor and blocked the conveyer belt for further bags making their way round in the arrivals hall, footage shows.
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A passenger who filmed the scene said Manchester Airport was "in disarray from start to finish" yesterday.
It comes amid continued staffing issues, flight cancellations and hour-long security queues at airports across the country.
An Italian aviation workers strike means dozens of flights there were axed, including EasyJet, British Airways and Ryanair.
And Wizz Air boss Jozsef Varadi warned plane ticket costs may rise by almost ten per cent this summer.
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The airline also warned shareholders that is will likely make an operating loss.
Travellers have called the nationwide situation shameful as ministers were urged to bring in tougher penalties for airlines which overbook routes.
And a British Airways pilot warned holidaymakers to expect even more travel chaos in winter.
It comes ahead of hundreds of GMB and Unite union members, including check-in and ground operation staff for BA, go on strike in the coming months.
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And an aviation source told that airlines had accepted there will be chaos and were "baking in cancellations and giving notice where possible".
They added: "It's not going to wash in the long run."
It follows a string of crippling transport blows yesterday which left Brits with just one option for summer - firing up a BBQ.
The latest travel woe saw petrol hit £2 a litre as rail unions announced a national three-day strike.
It leaves fed-up families facing a choice between battling summer airport queues or increasingly-costly staycations.
Last night they joined white van workers and travel industry experts urging the Government to fix the mess.
Plumber Andy Brindley, 53, a dad of three from Brighton, said: “It’s costing a bomb to get around in my diesel van so I try to stay as local as possible.
“I’ll be working even harder all summer to get my kids a nice holiday to Cornwall.
"But even that’s looking incredibly steep and up in the air at the moment.
"Someone needs to pull their finger out and help those of us grafting.”
Paul Charles, of travel consultancy the PC Agency, said: “It’s looking like a summer meltdown with problems on roads, railways and at airports.
“Someone has got to get a grip on protecting what used to be the Great British Getaway.
“At this rate, the whole of the summer is going to be causing real hardship because it will be too unpredictable to travel.
“So that’s why we need tough decisions, not dithering.”
The RMT will cause a week of rail chaos by shutting down the network on June 21, 23 and 25 after talks broke down over pay and redundancies.
More than 40,000 staff from Network Rail and 13 train operators are expected to take part.
On the first day, RMT workers on the Tube are planning another walkout over pensions and job losses — taking the tally of striking employees to 50,000.
The strike coincides with major events such as Glastonbury, gigs in London’s Hyde Park by Elton John and the Rolling Stones and England playing New Zealand in a Test match in Leeds.
And it is Armed Forces Day on June 25.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the decision to strike was “incredibly disappointing”.
He added: “The pandemic has changed travel habits — with 25 per cent fewer ticket sales and the taxpayer stepping in to keep the railways running at a cost of £16billion, equivalent to £600 a household. We must act now to put the industry on a sustainable footing.”
The Rail Delivery Group which represents train operating firms, urged the union to call off strikes.
Chairman Steve Montgomery said no one wins. He added: “Staff lose pay, the industry loses vital revenue making it harder to afford pay increases, plus passengers and businesses are disrupted. While we will keep as many services running as possible, sadly if this action goes ahead, significant disruption will be inevitable.”
Tory MP Huw Merriman, chair of the transport select committee, said: “These strikes could have devastating consequences at a time when we need to get more people back on the railway to secure its future.”
Petrol hit £2 a litre at a Gulf garage in Great Horkesley, Essex.
A BP on the A1 near Sunderland was selling litres of unleaded and diesel for 202.9p and 204.9p. The cost of filling up topped £98 for the first time in history on Monday.
Howard Cox, of FairFuelUK, said action was crucial to reduce crippling pump prices.
He said the oil industry was fleecing motorists at will, adding: “The Government is still turning a blind eye to decades of chronic profiteering. That has to stop.”
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Airport chaos is set to continue into the summer holidays as staff shortages lead to cancellations and delays. Dozens of flights were axed again yesterday — including 60 inbound and outbound with easyJet.
Members of the Unite and GMB unions who work as check-in staff and ground workers are voting over strike action at Heathrow.
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