French border police blames ‘unexpected’ incident for Dover bottlenecks July 22, 2022 The French border police has blamed an “unexpected technical” incident for the hour-long bottlenecks at the port of Dover. Authorities said they will work closely with the UK counterparts to handle surging traffic levels. The remarks come after the Port of Dover said the queues were caused by “inadequate French border capacity.” “Resource at the [...]
Summer getaway: Dover ‘critical incident’ blamed on French border staff being ‘woefully inadequate’ July 22, 2022 Dover authorities have slammed “woefully inadequate” staffing levels at the French border, with queues on UK motorways tailing back for miles. Ferry operators told travellers to leave several hours to account for delays, while motoring group RAC urged drivers to set off early in a bid to beat long queues. There was a perfect storm [...]
Ryanair boss calls for ‘more common sense’ in implementing post-Brexit immigration rules July 22, 2022 Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary has called for “a bit more” of common sense on the government’s side when implementing post-Brexit immigration rules. The Irish executive urged transport secretary Grant Shapps to allow EU workers to work in the UK and ease the ongoing travel chaos. “We have this bizarre situation at the moment that in [...]
Britons brace themselves for hour-long queues at Dover ahead of school break July 21, 2022 People embarking on their well-deserved summer holidays are currently stuck in hour-long bottlenecks at the port of Dover. Ferry operator P&O told passengers to “allow sufficient time” to clear the queues before checking in. “There are currently major queues at border controls in Dover,” the company said in a tweet. “If you miss your ferry, [...]
Regulators call on airlines to comply with consumer law if they want to avoid enforcement July 21, 2022 The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have warned airlines they could face enforcement action if they fail to comply with consumer law. In a joint letter sent to carriers today, the regulators said they were concerned about consumers experiencing harm “unless airlines meet their obligations” and “minimise flight disruption [...]
Menzies’ boss blames government’s inaction for travel chaos July 11, 2022 The government’s inaction has contributed to the ongoing travel chaos, according to Philipp Joeinig, boss of aviation services firm Menzies. The chief executive blamed specifically former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and transport secretary Grant Shapps, as he said industry requests didn’t translate into “forthcoming help” from the government’s side. Both Shapps and Sunak have thrown their [...]
easyJet execs jet off to Mallorca resort while passengers bear weight of travel chaos July 3, 2022 easyJet’s senior executives are jetting off to Mallorca this week while thousands of passengers bear the weight of the ongoing travel chaos. The airline’s management team are set to have a two-night corporate retreat at luxury resort Iberostar in Palma, which counts an infinity pool and a sunset champagne bar among its many amenities. Bosses [...]
DfT speeds up staff security checks as disruption continues at UK airports July 3, 2022 The Department for Transport (DfT) has assured it was speeding up the process to give aviation staff security clearance while disruption continues at UK airports. Counter-terrorism checks are now being processed in 10 days on average – half the time it took in March – while accreditation now takes 5 days, Sky News first reported. [...]
Aviation welcomes govt plan to help industry avoid do-over of Bank Holiday mayhem June 30, 2022 UK airlines and airports have welcomed the government’s 22-point plan for aviation. The strategy – which comes just as thousands of Britons get ready for the summer break – is aimed at avoiding the mayhem seen at airports during the Easter and half-term breaks. “We will work alongside the government and the wider industry to [...]
Lufthansa warns travel chaos ‘unlikely to improve’ in the coming weeks June 28, 2022 Lufthansa has warned the ongoing travel chaos is “unlikely to improve in the coming weeks,” as labour shortages and soaring levels of passenger demand rampage through Europe. “The ramp-up of complex air transport system from almost zero to now almost 90 per cent is clearly not proceeding with the reliability, the robustness and the punctuality [...]