As the peak summer 2024 getaway begins, airline travellers face delays and disruption – with many UK airports setting records for outbound passengers.
Many schools across England and Wales break up this week, with the third weekend in July traditionally bringing maximum pressure on airports and airlines.
In the skies, extreme pressure on air-traffic control across Europe has resulted in widespread delays and cancellations in the past month, with airlines including Ryanair warning of further trouble ahead unless more controllers are deployed.
Data released by Eurocontrol shows that last Friday, 12 July, only 52 per cent of flights handled by the pan-European coordinator departed on time – with just 46 per cent arriving on time.
Delays typically build up during the day, with some airlines cancelling flights as crew run “out of hours”. Over the past few weekends, dozens of departures to and from the UK have been grounded, particularly in the evening.
Travellers are also apprehensive about possible delays at major UK airports, as passenger numbers soar to record levels.
At Birmingham airport – which has seen long queues for security earlier in the summer – new facilities have been erected for “pre-security” checks at peak times. The aim is to ensure passengers are compliant with the “liquids rules” before they enter the actual checkpoints.
Last month the government rescinded the easing of rules on laptops and liquids in passenger baggage, sowing yet more confusion among passengers.
Al Titterington, terminal operations director of Birmingham airport, said: “We are preparing for our busiest-ever summer.
“We have put in robust plans, including extra contingency plans for issues that may occur out of our control to assist everyone on their journey through the airport.”
Birmingham airport says that the typical maximum queuing time is 45 minutes, with most passengers getting through in 10 minutes.
Across at London Gatwick, head of passenger operations Nick Williams told The Independent that 95 per cent of passengers clear security in under five minutes.
Gatwick is the world’s busiest single-runway airport, handling over 900 departing and arriving aircraft on the busiest days.
At peak times air-traffic controllers handle 55 movements per hour – a rate of one landing or take-off every 65 seconds.
But on occasions when the…
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