Edinburgh airport suspends helpline after staff left 'traumatised'

And the travel meltdown continues… at airports: Edinburgh suspends customer helpline after call handlers were left ‘traumatised’ by passengers raging over lost luggage while queue chaos hits Bristol, Manchester and Stansted

• Edinburgh Airport said it had a duty to ‘protect staff’ after a number of them quit shifts early after abuse
• Thousands of mislaid bags, including transfer baggage, have built up at the airport due to a staff shortage
• As UK braced itself for hottest day in history today, huge queues already forming at airports this morning

An airport has suspended its phone helpline after staff were left ‘traumatised’ by passengers raging over lost luggage – as pictures emerged of brutal queues today at Bristol, Manchester and Stansted.

Edinburgh Airport said it had a duty to ‘protect staff’ after a number of them quit their shifts early after being subjected to abuse.

It said ’90 per cent’ of calls to its customer service helpline were about baggage despite this being the responsibility of airlines.

Thousands of mislaid bags, including transfer baggage, have built up in and around the airport due to staff shortages. 

As Britain braced itself for the hottest day in history today, huge queues were already forming at airports including Manchester, Stansted and Bristol.

At Manchester two passengers were seen with their heads in their hands while sitting next to their baggage as they waited for their flight to leave this morning.

BRISTOL: Huge queues were already forming at airports this morning, with lengthy lines building up at Bristol Airport from 4.30am

LONDON: Queues at Heathrow this morning. The hub airport recently announced an unprecedented plan to cap passenger numbers over the summer 

MANCHESTER: Two passengers were seen with their heads in their hands while sitting next to their baggage as they waited for their flight to leave this morning

An Edinburgh Airport spokesman said: ‘Unfortunately we have seen a rise in the amount of abuse our teams are facing from passengers.

‘Although we appreciate the frustration they are facing, it is not acceptable and there is no excuse for abuse.

‘To allow our teams to work through a backlog of airport queries, and to protect them from this verbal abuse, we have taken the decision to temporarily suspend the phone lines. 

‘Passengers can still get in touch by email or using the chatbot function on our website.’ 

A staggering 17,000 flights have already been cancelled at the last minute this year – scuppering millions of people’s holiday plans.

The cancellations within 72 hours of departure are the equivalent of three million seats – and the biggest culprits are easyJet and British Airways, who have stopped approximately three out of every 100 flights they operated.

Budget airlines Ryanair and Jet2 were among the major airlines with fewest cancellations with just one in every thousand flights, according to research by data analysts Cirium for the BBC’s Panorama programme.

Travellers queue at Manchester Airport today. A staggering 17,000 flights from UK airports have already been cancelled at the last minute this year – scuppering millions of people’s holiday plans

The cancellations within 72 hours of departure are the equivalent of three million seats. Pictured: Scenes at Manchester Airport  

Britain grinds to a halt amid record heatwave – which could hit 43C

The Met Office has warned that temperatures could rise even further to 43C (109F) tomorrow – with trains already cancelled and schools closed amid a serious warning that fit and healthy people could die.

Its chief executive Penny Endersby confirmed ‘we may well see the hottest day in the UK in history’ today – beating the record of 38.7C (101.7F) set in Cambridge in July 2019 – but tomorrow is now expected to be even hotter.

With the UK set to be hotter than the Sahara Desert today, transport links in London were already grinding to a halt due to train cancellations – while roads could melt and bosses have urged employees to work from home.

Health chiefs told patients to stay away unless it is an emergency amid fears hospitals will be overwhelmed, while emergency services urged swimmers to stay away from lakes and rivers in case they face difficulties.

Some schools in Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire have shut while others will close early – and water providers have also warned of shortages after the hottest day of 2022 so far yesterday with 33C (91F) highs.

One GP surgery in Hertfordshire had to close a site today because it has no air conditioning; others in London have texted patients to warn them of reduced services with limited clinic rooms in operation; and Milton Keynes University Hospital said it was ‘standing down routine outpatient appointments and surgery’ today and tomorrow.

Major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester have all seen large-scale cancellations but the performance of airlines at different airports has been a factor. 

Ryanair’s main hub, Stansted, had a similar number of flights as Manchester, but only 29 cancellations compared to the 223 flights pulled at the northern airport.

But the airlines’ trade body insisted the chaos at airports is not the result of poor planning or decision making by airlines. 

Airlines UK policy director Rob Griggs told Panorama: ‘I don’t think there were wrong decisions made in terms of planning for the summer. 

‘Of course, it might be operationally on the day, different things perhaps could be done in different places.’

Holidaymakers have faced chaos at UK airports in recent weeks with delays, long queues and cancellations due to staff shortages.

Disruption is set to get even worse from this weekend when the school summer holidays begin for most.

Rory Boland, Travel Editor of Which? told the programme: ‘They’re not going to be ready. That’s the truth of the matter.

‘What’s reassuring is that it’s not all airlines, it’s not all airports. 

‘So, you know, before you book, take a look around what’s happening in the airport near you, the airlines you’re considering, and make your decision based on that.’

Heathrow, the country’s biggest airport, has capped passenger numbers at 100,000 per day until September 11, leading to more cancellations.

While some in the industry blame Brexit for making staff shortages worse, the government rejects this, pointing to similar staffing problems at airports in other EU countries.

Aviation Minister Robert Courts MP said: ‘At the end of the day, this is a sector that is privately run, privately owned, privately operated, and it’s for them to get into the sector the people they need.’ 

Holidaymakers have faced chaos at UK airports in recent weeks with delays, long queues and cancellations due to staff shortages (pic: Manchester) 

There were similar scenes at Bristol, where travellers are seen queuing today. Ryanair staff in 10 Spanish airports were on strike for four days last week

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