More flights were cancelled on Monday as airlines and airports struggled to cope with the big Easter getaway, and Heathrow said it was increasing resourcing as fast as possible to deal with rising passenger numbers. British Airways cancelled at least 64 domestic or European flights to or from Heathrow.
Affected UK routes included Heathrow to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle, while the international routes affected were services to and from Berlin, Dublin, Geneva, Paris and Stockholm. British Airways said passengers were given advanced warning of the cancellations.
EasyJet cancelled at least 25 flights to or from Gatwick, affecting routes between the West Sussex airport and Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Milan. The low-cost carrier said cancellations were being made “in advance to give customers the ability to rebook on to alternative flights”.
Long queues have formed at some UK airports over the past week, with many families travelling abroad for the school Easter holidays – often for the first time since the travel restrictions were lifted. Travellers at Manchester airport have faced particularly long waits.
On Monday, Heathrow – which is aiming to hire 12,000 staff to cope with an expected summer holiday boom – admitted that resources were “stretched”, as an increase in bookings created long delays over the Easter holiday period.
“Following a very weak January and February, passenger numbers in March were the highest since the start of the pandemic, following the government’s removal of all travel restrictions, making the UK the first country in the world to do so,” the airport said.
“The aviation sector has been rebuilding capacity ahead of a summer peak, so resources are stretched. Heathrow is working closely with airlines and ground handlers to make sure this increase in demand can be met while keeping passengers safe.”
