Tens of thousands of Britons are stranded at airports across Europe after another series of canceled flights, as the chaos of travel in the half-season shows no signs of losing weight.
Many families and couples were due to return to the UK on Saturday, but 100 flights were canceled due to continuing staffing problems that have plagued airports for months.
Dozens of flights have already been canceled on Sunday, with the biggest problem in Gatwick, where Wizz Air, British Airways and easyJet have suspended flights.
The long queues, mass cancellations and appalling delays facing passengers are Brexit’s fault, said London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
He called on the government to ease immigration rules and allow European workers who were employed in the aviation industry before Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic to return to fill labor shortages in the sector.
However, Transport Minister Grant Shaps flatly rejected calls to open the door to more “cheap” foreign workers in an effort to ease pressure on the aviation sector.
He accused travel chiefs of “cutting too far” during the pandemic and said the sector needed to solve the problems.
Key points
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Joe Middleton, June 5, 2022 19:08
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More immigration is not the answer to the chaos of traveling to airports, says Shaps
The transport minister has rejected calls to open the door to more “cheap” foreign workers in a bid to ease pressure on the aviation sector.
Air passengers are facing days of disruption at British airports, with a total of 20 flights listed as canceled at Gatwick Airport on Saturday, while 17 were marked as delayed.
Grant Shaps said he would do absolutely everything he could to make sure holidaymakers could get away with it in the summer, but did not allow a temporary influx of migrants to overcome labor shortages.
Joe Middleton, June 5, 2022, 5:57 p.m.
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Eurostar recommends that passengers “postpone travel” due to power outages
In a tweet, they said: “Due to a problem with the power supply in the Paris area, all our trains to and from Paris are subject to serious delays and cancellations. We strongly encourage all our passengers to postpone their trip if possible. ”
Joe Middleton, June 5, 2022, 5:15 p.m.
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Unite chief blames government’s failure to attach job guarantees to travel chaos money
Unite chief Sharon Graham blamed the government’s failure to attach job guarantees to Covid’s vacation money for the travel chaos facing passengers.
She said on Twitter: “This breakdown is due to @GOVUK’s failure to attach job guarantees to the £ 8 billion in holiday pay it has given to airlines.
“There is now a chronic shortage of staff, and if travel chiefs do not come together, this chaos could continue until next year.”
Joe Middleton, June 5, 2022 16:34
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What are my user rights if my flight is canceled?
Dozens of flights are canceled by airlines every day due to staff shortages and absences due to illness.
British Airways, easyJet and Tui have decided to cut their summer schedules, with most routes canceled in advance and passengers notified.
Our travel correspondent Simon Calder will review your user rights if your flight is canceled.
Joe Middleton, June 5, 2022 16:07
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Airlines must “follow the rules when flights are interrupted”, says the group of consumers Who?
Lisa Webb, a legal expert in the Who? Consumer rights group, said airlines must “follow the rules when flights are suspended” after a “hell week” for passengers.
“The embarrassing scenes at UK airports this half-season are the result of an industry in which some airlines believe they can get away with disregarding consumer rights and acting with almost impunity,” she said.
“It is clear that passengers’ rights need to be strengthened, so the government must abandon its plans to reduce compensation for delayed and canceled flights, and the Civil Aviation Authority must be given the power to impose direct fines for to be able to hold airlines accountable when they break. The law. “
Joe Middleton June 5, 2022 3:40 p.m.
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Pictured: queues at Eurostar in Paris
The first image shows the Gare du Nord terminal, and the second is the Eurostar waiting room.
(Laura Hampson)
(Laura Hampson)
Joe Middleton, June 5, 2022 15:16
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Is the chaos of travel and passports new normal for global Britain?
This chaos of travel and these delays in passports do not look much like the Brexit they promised us, Sean O’Grady writes.
Joe Middleton, June 5, 2022 14:42
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Grant Shaps rejects calls for “cheap” foreign workers to resolve airport chaos
Grant Shaps rejected calls to open the door to more “cheap” foreign workers in a bid to ease pressure on the aviation sector.
The transport secretary said he would do absolutely everything he could to make sure holidaymakers could get away with it in the summer, but did not allow a temporary influx of migrants to overcome labor shortages.
Asked if he would temporarily allow more foreign workers in the industry to ease the pressure on staff, he told the BBC’s Sunday Morning program: “The answer may not always be to reach for the lever labeled” More immigration “.
“There is no attraction to alleviate this.”
Mr Schaps also denied that the UK’s divorce from Brussels was a major factor behind the chaos and queues seen at British airports during the four-day Platinum Journey break, pointing to widespread unrest elsewhere in Europe.
Mr Schaps added that the Brexit vote was about moving away from hiring “cheap labor from elsewhere”.
“I did not vote for Brexit, but the country did, and we made our choice – we want a high-wage and highly skilled economy,” he said. This means that the aviation sector, like all other sectors, and as heavy goods vehicles have done, the truck driving sector needs to change. “
Joe Middleton, June 5, 2022 2:15 p.m.
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Eurostar update from Paris
Passengers scheduled for the train at 9.12 CEST by Paris Gare du Nord have been told that their train must be ready to leave at 15.15 CEST, six hours after its originally scheduled departure.
As this news was announced by members of the Eurostar team, there was applause and applause throughout the Eurostar waiting terminal, where passengers on four delayed trains waited for nearly five hours.
An earlier electrical outage just outside Paris was the cause of Eurostar’s delays today, with several trains from Paris to London canceled as British holidaymakers tried to return home for the end of school holidays.
Passengers on the other three trains were told by 12 noon that they should be able to return today.
Joe Middleton June 5, 2022 2:00 p.m.
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