Britain’s biggest holiday company, Tui, announced overnight that it has cancelled nearly 200 outbound flights from Manchester airport to a range of holiday destinations between now and the end of June.
The cancellations began immediately – including a holiday departure from Manchester to Fuerteventura in Spain’s Canary Islands.
Sue Leighton, one of the passengers booked to travel, was told late on Monday about the cancellation.
“We’ve just told the five-year-old grandchild and she was so upset,” she told The Independent.
Passengers have been given a full refund, as stipulated by the Package Travel Regulations.
Disappointed holidaymakers were also given a £200 voucher towards a future trip with Tui. But Ms Leighton said: “Do they honestly think we will travel with them again.”
A Tui spokesperson said: “Due to the amount of on-going disruption in our operation at Manchester Airport, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to cancel six flights a day (43 flights a week), from Tuesday 31May until Thursday 30 June.
“All other airports in the UK are planned to operate as normal.
“We understand how disappointing this this will be for those impacted; however, we believe this is necessary to provide stability and a better customer service at Manchester airport.
“We will continue to work closely with all our airport partners and suppliers so we can provide the best possible holiday experience for our customers.
“Customers affected by the flight cancellations will receive a full refund for their holiday, as well as an extra gesture of goodwill. Customers impacted in the next 14 days will also receive information on how to apply for compensation in line with regulations.
“We would like to reassure our customers than cancellations of this nature are extremely rare and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding.”
Holidaymakers whose trips are cancelled at less than two weeks’ notice are also entitled to £220 or £350 per person in accordance with European air passengers’ rights rules. Tui is advising travellers who qualify to claim the cash.
A Manchester airport spokesperson said: “Over the last few days Tui and its appointed ground handler, Swissport, have experienced significant challenges with their check-in and baggage reclaim operations at Manchester airport.
“From extensive discussions with the Tui and Swissport management teams, it is clear that they are experiencing temporary staff shortages, in common with other aviation and travel companies.
“Given these challenges, we understand Tui’s difficult decision to cancel a number of services over the course of the next month, although we are obviously disappointed to see passengers’ plans disrupted in this way.
“We will continue to work with Tui, Swissport and other partners to give passengers the best possible service as the travel sector builds back to full strength after the pandemic.
“In the meantime, we continue to advise passengers to arrive three hours before their flight and to be as prepared as they can be for their journey through the airport.”
