Travellers around the world have seen their Easter getaways disrupted or cancelled, as airlines and airports are unable to match the demand for travel.
As pandemic restrictions are eased across Europe, many airports and airlines do not have enough staff to meet the explosion in passenger numbers.
Low-cost carrier easyJet was one of the worst affected in the UK, cancelling hundreds of flights in the past week.
More than 100 flights were cancelled in the UK today due to staff shortages, including 64 British Airways flights from Heathrow.
It comes as passengers continue to experience delays and long queues at London, Manchester and Birmingham airports.
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In Ireland, Dublin Airport has seen chaotic scenes as thousands of passengers struggle to enter the terminal.
Images and videos posted on social media show passengers queueing on the street to enter the airport.
The latest recommendation from Dublin Airport is for passengers to be at the airport 3.5 hours before their flight, including short-haul trips.
Many passengers have been arriving at the airport as early as 3am – way before security has even opened – to catch their early morning flight.
Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier whose passenger numbers topped pre-pandemic levels last month, has called on the Government to use the army to deal with the delays.
Many countries around the world have also been experiencing their fair share of mass cancellations and delays.
In the US, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines passengers struggled to reach their destinations over the weekend, as the airlines cancelled hundreds of flights due to staffing issues and bad weather in Florida.
JetBlue cancelled 18% of its Saturday flights and has cancelled 13% of Sunday flights as of 2:30 p.m. ET. Spirit cancelled 14% of its Saturday flights and has cancelled 13% of its Sunday flights.
JetBlue has already announced it will be cutting its summer schedule to avoid further flight disruptions.
“We’ve already reduced May capacity 8-10% and you can expect to see a similar size capacity pull for the remainder of the summer,” Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s COO and president, said in an email to staff on Saturday.
The flight woes come as the two airlines begin merger talks following JetBlue’s surprise bid for the budget airline on Tuesday.
Alaska Airlines seemed to be dealing with a separate issue over the weekend that led to even more flight cancellations: ongoing contract negotiations with its pilots.
The airline said it would trim its spring schedule to catch up on pilot training.
Chaotic scenes have also been seen in Australian airports.
Staff shortages and the start of the school holidays has led to hefty wait times at Sydney and Melbourne airports.
Travel experts are warning things could get worse as we near the Good Friday and Easter Monday weekend.
