A minister has said the travel industry has had months to prepare for the half-term rush and should have had staff in place - as hundreds of flights have been cancelled.
Lord Parkinson, the arts minister, told Sky News' Kay Burley that the Department for Transport has been working with the travel and aviation industry to ensure they could get people away for half-term and Jubilee weekend breaks.
"We have been on a long pathway back to recovery so that people can enjoy this moment and [companies] should be making sure that people are able to get away on holiday and enjoy it fully," he said.There are"lots of opinionated people in the aviation industry", Lord Parkinson said, in reference to some of the airline bosses who have blamed the government for the long airport delays and flight cancellations people are experiencing.
The government has been using"post-Brexit freedoms" to make sure people can be hired more quickly, he said, and the aviation industry has been encouraged to use those freedoms to get more staff in.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
What is causing travel chaos at some UK airports and what are your rights?With some airlines struggling to cope with the half-term holidays, what should you do if your plans are disrupted?
Read more »
Platinum Jubilee weekend: Will there be any travel disruptions over the bank holiday?Some stops along your route may be disrupted by station closures, road closures and route changes to public transport so plan ahead where possible. Here’s all you need to know 👇
Read more »
'Hours-long queues' at Bristol airport as half-term travel chaos continues🔴Bristol airport is experiencing 'five hour long queues' at its departure gates as the airport braces for the busiest week of travel since 2019
Read more »
Passengers arrive to huge airport queues in latest travel chaos - live‘We’ve been saying to the industry you need to prepare for this, they need to have the staff we need to make sure people can get away and enjoy holidays’ says arts minister
Read more »
Newspaper headlines: 'Travel carnage worsens' and PM fuels Tory angerAirport cuts put holidays at risk, and Boris Johnson facing leadership challenges, lead the papers.
Read more »
Travel chaos as flights axed & passengers ‘stuck for hours’ at DoverHalf-term holidaymakers are facing major travel disruption as hundreds of flights are cancelled and heavy delays hit Dover
Read more »