BUCKLING UNDER PRESSURE
Travel chaos: Kids forced to sleep on Heathrow floor & it’s going to get WORSE as EasyJet scraps 1000s of summer flights
KIDS have been sleeping on Heathrow's floor with travellers left at their wit's end as airports cancel thousands of flights - and it's only going to get WORSE.
More than 15,000 passengers were left in the lurch today after Britain's busiest airport cancelled ten per cent of its plane journeys.
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And travellers have revealed how their holiday plans have gone up in flames with EasyJet announcing plans to cut MORE flights over the busy summer period - already scrapping 7% of the 16,000 journeys it is expected to run between July and September.
Photos taken at airports up and down the country today showed holiday hopefuls spread out across the floors with bags piling up in the travel carnage.
One traveller wrote: ";Women and children now sleeping on the floor in Heathrow. Eitihad flight delayed by four hrs in Abu Dhabi and landed over two hrs ago and still no bags.
"Better communication needed. This could have been avoided for a lot of families and individuals. Awful situ, no water even."
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Another man called Stephen said his partner with two autistic children are stranded with no help from the airline after their flight was delayed so they missed their connection.
What we know so far...
- EasyJet announced its capacity for flights between July and September will be around 90 per cent
- A frustrated pilot was filmed loading baggage onto his plane after suitcases piled up at Heathrow
- Passengers on Saturday were told they may not get luggage back for two days after a mechanical fault
He wrote: "Kids tired, scared, hungry. Both in nappies and told to find own hotel at 1am. Help."
Another disgruntled passenger wrote online: "Flight to Melbourne delayed and Heathrow is bustling."
Already today, many passengers have missed connection flights today because of huge delays today.
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Meanwhile, EasyJet announced it has scrapped seven per cent of the 160,000 flights it expected to run between July and September.
The budget airline announced it is "proactively consolidating a number of flights across affected airports".
Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: "EasyJet has caused chaos and distress for passengers over several weeks with a constant stream of last-minute cancellations.
"While reducing the number of flights it operates may be the most sensible option in delivering a more reliable service over the summer, it yet again leaves passengers panicking about whether their flight or holiday will be cancelled or delayed.
"The summer holidays are just around the corner, so easyJet must immediately provide clarity on which flights are being cut.
"Crucially, it needs to start playing by the rules and rerouting its customers, including on flights with other carriers.
"That's the legal requirement and the very least the airline can do for customers it has left in a mess."
Hundreds of suitcases piled up at Heathrow Airport yesterday, with passengers told they may not get their luggage back for two days.
A sea of bags spread across the airport floor in Terminal 2 after the luggage belts broke, leaving passengers stranded without their belongings.
Holidaymakers posted online in shock at the carnage, labelling it "utter bedlam", a "nightmare" and a "s*** show", while a Sky News reporter said they had "never seen anything like it".
A frustrated pilot was praised after he was forced to load baggage onto his plane after the suitcases piled up.
The cancellations will impact around 90 flights from Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 at Heathrow, the reports.
Both Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have been affected, with routes including New York and LA as well as short haul routes to France.
Other flights affected include:
- Aegean to Athens
- Aer Lingus to Dublin
- Air Canada to Toronto
- Air France to Paris
- Eurowings to Cologne
- ITA to Rome
- KLM to Amsterdam
- Lufthansa to Frankfurt
- SAS to Copenhagen
- Swiss to Zurich
- TAP to Lisbon
It follows Gatwick Airport reducing their daily flights, affecting 4,000 routes.
Daily flights will be capped at 825 in July and 850 in August - compared to 900 a day during the same period in previous years.
It said the decision - affecting around 800,000 people - was taken following a review of its operations and that it is "temporarily moderating its rate of growth" for two months.
Brits heading to Spain and Portugal are being warned they will be hit the hardest by Gatwick's recent cancellations.
EasyJet has already cancelled 600 flights this month, along with all flights to Hurghada in Egypt.
The airline has since said they are canceling dozens more flights this summer, running at just 87 per cent of their 2019 levels.
And it's not just easyJet being affected - TUI has been forced to cancel more than 180 flights in June, affecting around six flights a day.
British Airways cancelled thousands of flights in advance between March and October to prevent short-notice cancellations.
A statement made by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Department For Transport (DfT) has urged airlines to cancel even more flights in advance, to avoid short-notice cancellations.
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They said: "It’s important that each airline reviews afresh its plans for the remainder of the summer season until the end of September to develop a schedule that is deliverable.
"Your schedules must be based on the resources you and your contractors expect to have available, and should be resilient for the unplanned and inevitable operational challenges that you will face.
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