In addition to cancellations and delays to flights or trains, the disruption in British transport worsened on Monday with a very popular underground strike in London.
The RMT union launched a well-attended 24-hour strike for the day on Monday, with the closure of many Tube stations on the London network.
The London Transport Company (TfL), the equivalent of the RATP in Paris, warned of “severe disruptions” and advised users to avoid traveling on Monday and until 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Meanwhile, thousands of passengers were struggling to get back to the UK after the Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee long weekend, due to hundreds of flight cancellations from Easyjet, British Airways, Tui and Wizz Air, according to British media.
Spokespersons for Easyjet, British Airways and Eurostar did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for comment.
Travelers taking the Eurostar for the Jubilee long weekend have also faced major delays: “Passport and security checks in London are taking longer than usual, which translates into long tails. Our service is therefore experiencing major delays,” tweeted Eurostar, apologizing.
The aviation sector is facing a severe shortage of employees, after laying off thousands of people at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused air traffic to be grounded for months and then reduced sharply. flights due to health restrictions.
He is now struggling to recruit and cope with a sharp upturn in travel demand now that health restrictions have been lifted.
The transport sector has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic with air traffic virtually halted for months and the number of passengers on the UK Underground or trains falling sharply.
Airlines and politicians blame each other for the current chaos at airports.
Last week the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab had notably accused the companies of being “poorly prepared” for the resumption of demand.
The aviation sector blames the authorities for not having accelerated the validation procedures for new flight or airport personnel.
The problem is expected to continue “a good part of the summer season”, in the United Kingdom as on the rest of the European continent, has also warned in a memo the organization of European companies Airlines for Europe.