Hundreds of cancelled flights due to Covid-19 and delays at Eurotunnel
Transport problems mainly due to rising coronavirus cases
There are cancellations and delays at many transport hubs in the UK today as coronavirus means staff shortages for many transport companies.
British Airways has cancelled 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport today, EasyJet cancelled over 200 flights over the weekend and into today and there are major delays for the cross-Channel rail services.
Airlines are suffering from staff shortages related to coronavirus sickness, leading to flights being grounded.
Eurotunnel warned its vehicle-carrying Le Shuttle rail services from Folkestone, Kent to Calais, France were delayed by three hours due to “a train stopped temporarily in the tunnel”.
British Airways cancels flights
British Airways cancelled at least 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport on Monday, although it's thought only a handful were last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages.
The total includes many flights cancelled due to the airline's recent decision to reduce its schedule until the end of May due to rising coronavirus cases.
The airline said: "Aviation has been one of the industries worst hit by the pandemic, and airlines and airports are experiencing the same issues rebuilding their operations while managing the continuing impact of Covid."
EasyJet cancels 62 flights today
EasyJet cancelled 62 flights scheduled for today, after cancelling at least 222 flights across Saturday and Sunday.
A spokesman for the airline said: "As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses easyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness."
The airline attempted to limit the impact on passengers by focusing cancellations on routes with multiple daily flights.
The spokesman added that the number of cancellations "represents a small proportion" of the total of 1,645 planned for Monday.
Eurotunnel delayed by three hours
Eurotunnel's Le Shuttle rail services from Folkestone, Kent to Calais, France were delayed by three hours due to "a train stopped temporarily in the tunnel".
The travel disruption is affecting many families heading abroad for the Easter school holiday, which is the first since the UK's coronavirus restrictions for international travellers were dropped.
Passengers at Heathrow and Manchester have reported long queues in recent days.