STOP TRAVEL CHAOS, AIR BOSSES WARNED

MINISTERS DEMAND SWIFT ACTION TO END HOLIDAY MISERY FOR THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES | 'There must have been 700 people in queue and only two on check-in'

- Nicholas Cecil, Barney Davis, Anthony France and Natalia Penza

AVIATION bosses were today told to "get a grip" to avoid holiday getaway misery hitting millions of Britons this summer. The Government and MPs piled pressure on airline bosses to act swiftly to end cancellations and delays currently blighting breaks for thousands of families.

Passengers also pleaded for moves to tackle lengthy queues at some airports amid fears that the delays will hit flights during the Platinum Jubilee four-day bank holiday weekend and spill over into the summer months.

The chaos for tens of thousands of travellers is believed to be partly down to a "perfect storm" of staff shortages, computer problems, air traffic problems and a bigger than expected surge in demand after the Covid crisis.

As anger mounted, Julian Knight, chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee (which covers tourism), told the Standard: "They need to get a grip and now. They risk harming their industry's reputation for years to come as well as destroying the holiday plans of thousands of Britons."

He called for an investigation into whether too many tickets had been sold for the capacity of airlines.