UK travel chaos: tips on what to do, from flight cancellations to passports

theguardian.com:

It has been another week of chaos at UK airports, with hundreds of flights cancelled and holidaymakers facing long queues, with reports of waits of up to eight hours.

Pent-up demand for travel and staff shortages have combined to put pressure on airports and airlines.

This week’s “half-term travel chaos” headlines have followed on the heels of “Easter travel chaos” ones, and will have left many people with summer holidays booked – particularly those involving flights – worried their plans might be disrupted.

The consumer organisation Which? says it is increasingly hearing from people who are asking questions such as “can I cancel” and “what are my rights,” and in some cases are saying that with all the chaos, they don’t fancy going any more.

So what’s the prognosis for this summer? The Prospect union, which represents thousands of aviation staff, warned on Tuesday that “things could get worse this summer before they get better”. It says there are staff shortages across the industry, with a huge reliance on overtime to get by day to day.

Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel, says it is worth remembering that the vast majority of people are not having their flights cancelled or missing their plane because of the long queues. But he adds: “This disruption is going to continue into the summer. The staff shortages are almost across the sector.”

Paul Charles, the chief executive of the travel consultancy The PC Agency, doesn’t see things improving overnight but says: “I think that during June we will see a gradual improvement in hiring of workers … Consumers can be reassured that by the peak summer period in July, many of these issues will be resolved.”

However, he says that “the government needs to step up on approving security