Travel disruption – live: Calls for automatic airline refunds grow as Wizz Air adds to advance cancellations

MPs have slammed tour operator Tui after it announced it would cancel hundred of flights and holidays from Manchester over the next month.

Two Greater Manchester MPs, former airport boss Graham Stringer and Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, have both taken shots at the holiday giant.

Mr Stringer said: “I think the treatment of customers from beginning to end has been appalling.

“They have treated them with complete contempt. They didn’t try to speak to passengers who had been queuing to get on the plane and left it with police officers to tell them, and Manchester Airport staff. It’s totally contemptuous.”

Ms Rayner said: “To have a holiday cancelled at the last minute is a real kick in the teeth for families in my constituency and across Greater Manchester, many of whom were looking forward to their first time abroad since the pandemic.

“TUI say they will cancel 43 flights a week between now and the end of June but are refusing to say which ones will be affected which is only serving to add to the chaos and confusion at a time when their customers desperately need transparency and clarity.

“The offer of a refund will be small comfort to families who have long been looking forward to getting away.”

Britain’s biggest budget airline, easyJet, has cancelled at least 40 domestic and European flights on Wednesday – mainly to and from its biggest base, London Gatwick airport.

The Independent calculates six domestic flights have been grounded from easyJet’s main base, including two round-trips from Gatwick to Edinburgh.

Twenty international flights are cancelled, including round-trips from Gatwick to Catania in Sicily, Prague and Bordeaux.

See the full list of cancellations:

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Airline and airport bosses have been summoned to a meeting with the transport secretary after he demanded answers on “what’s gone wrong” over the past few days.

Grant Shapps insisted the government had “done its part” to support the industry - referring to the £8bn given during the pandemic as well as changes to the recruitment process - and said workers needed to ensure there was no more disruption.

"It’s been very distressing to see passengers facing yet more disruption at airports - having well-earned holidays cancelled and plans left in disarray,” he said in a statement on Thursday evening.

"We’ve been clear that industry leaders need to tackle the issues we saw at Easter head-on.

"Although some steps have been taken, we are still not seeing the progress we need to."

The government will be meeting with airports, airlines and ground handlers again to “find out what’s gone wrong and how they are planning to end the current run of cancellations and delays", he said.

He added: "The government has done its part. It is now on airports, airlines and ground handlers to make sure everyone’s well-deserved holidays can go ahead free from the major disruption we’ve seen in recent days."

Dublin Airport cannot guarantee that chaotic scenes from this weekend will not be repeated, the Irish transport minister said.

On Sunday more than 1,000 passengers missed their flights at Dublin and long queues formed for people to drop off bags and pass through security checks.

After a meeting with Dublin Airport Authority (daa) to discuss steps forward, Eamon Ryan, the transport secretary, said: “They said they cannot guarantee, but what we said is you have to do everything in your power, the government will do everything to support, so we don’t see those scenes again.

“It can’t continue. You have to provide a proper service to the public, you can’t have someone having to queue for two or three hours and then not be able to get a flight.

“It is just not acceptable and it cannot be tolerated.

“The airport has to manage its operations so it doesn’t occur.”

There are fears the chaos seen in airports this week could continue into summer as British Airways check-in staff are balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay.

Union Unite said staff at Heathrow Airport had received a 10 per cent pay cut during the Covid pandemic, which airline bosses have refused to reverse - despite restoring their own pay to pre-pandemic levels.

The vote - covering about 500 staff - will open on 7 June and close on 27 June, and if approved will take place in July.

My colleague Lucy Thackray reports:

Around 42 flights to and from London Gatwick were grounded by EasyJet, accounting for 10 per cent of its planned flights on Tuesday.

The country’s biggest budget airline gave two days’ warning to most of the estimated 6,000 customers affected, yet more were disrupted due to further “on-the-day” cancellations.

Among them were key holiday destinations including Venice, Amsterdam and Athens, but here is a list of Tuesday’s cancelled EasyJet flights.

• Amsterdam
• Athens
• Belfast City
• Berlin
• Biarritz
• Budapest
• Cologne
• Copenhagen (2)
• Krakow
• Luxembourg
• Madrid
• Marrakesh
• Milan Linate
• Milan Malpensa
• Preveza
• Rijeka
• Sofia
• Valencia
• Venice
• Zurich

Chaotic scenes have not just been seen in airports - hundreds of Eurostar passengers were forced to wait in a queue, allegedly for up to three hours.

The line at London’s St Pancras was so long it snaked out of the station and along the road outside, with people having to endure the wet weather.

Passenger Svenja O’Donnell claimed to have been patiently queuing for almost three hours, with little information given to her.

Another traveller complained about "waiting outside in the rain" and there being "no clear signs and explanation".

At least one train from London to Paris departed with none of its onboard toilets working, with Eurostar putting the disruption down to a technical fault.

"Unfortunately we had a technical fault on a train earlier this morning which meant we had to take it out of service,” a statement read.

"As a consequence, there are delays of 30-60 minutes on departure in London St Pancras.

"Queues are moving and our staff are working hard to look after passengers and ensure their check-in is as smooth as possible."

Read the full story here:

Labour has accused the government of being “missing in action” as the disruption to travel continues to intensify across the country.

"Tory ministers can’t even get the basics right," Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said.

"They should show some responsibility, do their job, and take concrete steps to tackle the chaos growing on their watch."

As well as apparent technical difficulties among some airlines, the aviation industry is suffering staff shortages after letting thousands of employees go during the Covid pandemic.

Airlines and airports have repeatedly pleaded the government for more financial support over the past two years, as the worldwide travel bans wreaked havoc on the industry.

Now, with travel restrictions lifted and the demand for travel increasing, they are struggling under the pressure.

Tui has cancelled nearly 200 flights from Manchester Airport citing “ongoing disruptions” within its operations at the base.

The half-a-dozen-a-day cancellations have further added to the travel chaos experienced over the weekend, which saw hundreds of flights abandoned at airports throughout the country.

“Due to the amount of on-going disruption in our operation at Manchester Airport, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to cancel six flights a day (43 flights a week), from Tuesday 31 May until Thursday 30 June,” a Tui spokesperson said.

“All other airports in the UK are planned to operate as normal.

“We understand how disappointing this will be for those impacted; however, we believe this is necessary to provide stability, and better customer service at Manchester Airport.”

The German airline promised to offer a full refund and added compensation to passengers whose journeys had been disrupted, though has yet to detail how this could be claimed.

“Customers affected by the flight cancellations will receive a full refund for their holiday, as well as an extra gesture of goodwill. Customers impacted in the next 14 days will also receive information on how to apply for compensation in line with regulations,” its spokesperson said.

“We would like to reassure our customers than cancellations of this nature are extremely rare and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

Simon Calder reports: