Thousands of air passengers face new disruptions as widespread flight cancellations continue.
EasyJet canceled at least 35 flights on Tuesday, with Gatwick being the worst-hit airport.
The Hungarian airline Wizz Air shut down at least seven flights to operate British airports.
And British Airways canceled 124 Heathrow flights, even though the airline said the affected passengers were notified in advance.
Today’s cancellations are the last few months of disruption for British air passengers – leaving tens of thousands of travelers’ holiday plans in disarray.
The chaos has also affected those who have managed to escape, where many thousands of British holidaymakers found themselves stranded in the rest of Europe after hundreds of flight cancellations.
Matt Wheeler, 37, a Nottingham train driver, said he and his partner had to make emergency childcare arrangements with relatives after their easyJet flight home from Amsterdam was canceled on Monday.
“They will have to take time off work (and) we are now missing out on a day’s work tomorrow as we are not home,” he said.
“It’s a farce … did not know about the cancellation until we arrived at the airport at 03.30, no easyJet staff or any staff that could help us.”
The aviation industry is struggling to recruit new workers after letting thousands of people go during coronavirus pandemic – and a guilt game has erupted over who is responsible for the crisis.
Airlines, airports and ground handling companies repeatedly called for sector-specific financial support under COVID-19 crisis as shutdowns and travel restrictions suppressed demand.
Airlines are now suffering from staff shortages, saying government bureaucracy is delaying security checks on new recruits.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has rejected calls to open the door to more “cheap” overseas workers to ease pressure on the sector.
He has claimed that airlines and travel agents have “severely oversold flights and holidays in terms of their capacity to deliver” despite government warnings and accused bosses of “pushing too far”.
The minister has responded to industry demands to speed up security checks for workers and allow some employees in non-security-related jobs to take training immediately.
But he has said that it is up to the sector to solve the problems after receiving 8 billion. pounds in state aid and had access to leave money to keep staff on the books while COVID travel restrictions were in place.
