Ryanair boss calls for the ARMY to be drafted in to ‘relieve pressure’ as travellers face SEVENTH day of airport chaos
A RYANAIR boss has called for the ARMY to be drafted in to "relieve the pressure" as travellers face the SEVENTH day of airport chaos.
Hopeful Brits attempting to squeeze in a holiday over the Queen's Jubilee weekend have been stopped in their tracks amid flight cancellations and hellish queues at airports.
Staff shortages, IT issues, air traffic problems and a surge of travellers post-Covid have caused a "perfect storm" of chaos for holidaymakers.
And the Jubilee Bank Holiday has been no exception.
Snaking queues going outside the terminal building at Bristol Airport were seen this morning, while desperate holidaymakers stood in long lines in Manchester.
With the added pressure on airports, Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said that the army should be brought in for the next "four months" to help with the chaos.
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He said that the government needs to stop blaming the airports or the airlines for the issues as that "doesn't solve anything."
Mr O’Leary told ITV News: “Bringing in the army, which they do at many other European airports, would, at a stroke, relieve the pressure on airport security and would mean that people have a much better experience – not just this weekend, but for each weekend over the next three, four months.
“Army personnel, defence personnel who are good at providing security could relieve the pressure.
"And that would be something useful that this government could do instead of blaming the airports or the airlines, which doesn’t solve anything.
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“We are going to have pinch points at the UK airports right through to the end of this summer until the kids go back to school in September.
“And I believe that the best way of solving these pinch points … is to deploy military personnel who are security trained and who could relieve the pressure on airport security and if you relieve the pressure in airport security, you get rid of the queues.”
Meanwhile, desperate travellers have been struggling to get water at airports because of queues at restaurants and cafes.
Passengers at Stansted complained that lines for water were longer than those for security yesterday.
As a result, airlines have allegedly told travellers to avoid queuing for food and drink in terminals and buy meals on the plane instead.
Dean Evans, 36, was forced to wait for six hours at Manchester Airport after his flight to Alicante was delayed - but he said only one bar was open, which was swamped with customers.
Bosses have also told travellers to not come to the airport too early - as the eager holidaymakers will "disrupt the ecosystem" of the terminals and cause more issues.
TRAVEL CHAOS
Travellers across the country have been warned the disruption could get worse - as unions say there'll be problems throughout "the entire summer".
There are problems around the UK, with would-be holiday-makers urged not to arrive at the airport more than three hours early - despite facing horrific five-hour queues that snake through terminals into car parks outside.
Even when they do make it to departures they still face a gruelling getaway lottery, with hundreds of flights scrapped.
And train stations are no better, with footage taken at London's St Pancras station showing huge queues for the Eurostar.
Earlier this week, Brits waited on pavements outside the station as a "technical issue" caused delays leaving London.
Julian Knight, chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, told the Evening Standard about travel bosses: “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.”
Meanwhile, Ryanair passengers are being warned of travel disruption this summer, which could affect as many as 200 flights a day.
Baggage handlers at Blue Handling are threatening strike action due to pay cuts, which will affect hundreds of flights if it goes ahead.
Union Unite has warned that unless they get a substantial pay rise then they will walk out over the summer.
And with airlines already facing huge problems with delayed and cancelled flights, it could result in even more chaos for Brits hoping to go abroad during the peak holiday season.
Ryanair has already issued a travel update for Brits travelling in the next few days, advising to leave three hours before departure to avoid the current travel chaos.
Earlier this week, police were forced to tell exhausted Tui passengers their flight was cancelled after eight-hour delays.
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Brits were in tears as two policemen arrived to read a statement from the airline after days of "total carnage" in UK airports.
More than 30,000 Tui passengers due to fly from Manchester Airport alone over the next month will have their holiday plans crushed by the end of today.
