Holiday hacks to make your summer break run smoothly
3.5 million people are set to jet off from Manchester Airport over the summer.
Manchester Airport will see around 3.5 million passengers jetting off for their summer holidays over the next six weeks.
In fact, more than 60% of Brits intend to head abroad this summer, as a sense of normality returns to our lives following two years of the coronavirus pandemic.
Spain, Greece and Turkey are back on our list of top destinations after summers of staycations, lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions.
In 2022, holidays abroad are expected to return to close to 2019 levels, but stories of airport queues, staff shortages and cancelled flights have left some passengers nervous about what to expect.
Top tips to get through the airport smoothly
We've been speaking to industry insiders to get a heads-up on how to avoid some of the problems you may have heard about earlier this year.
Some issues are unforeseen, but others you can do something about
- Plan your journey - trains to the airport might get cancelled, traffic jams might delay your arrival, so check before you travel
- Arrive 3 hours before your departure - no earlier, no later. Arriving 4-5 hours early will only delay holidaymakers trying to get away before you
- Remember the rules - check your baggage for liquids and electronics. All the extra rules around 100ml bottles in plastic bags, and carrying things like hair straighteners in hand luggage are still in place
Problems in airports as departure gates reopened
Thousands of flights have been cancelled this year as airlines readjust to post-COVID life.
Staff who left the industry, or were made redundant, during the lockdown took a long time to replace.
This led to shortages at check-ins and security for people getting away in the half term and Jubilee bank holiday breaks.
A shortage of baggage handlers also meant there were delays getting luggage on and off planes and to the right destinations
Rigorous security checks meant it took weeks to get newly trained staff into new roles.
Airports and airlines hope they're now better equipped to deal with a surge in passengers.
Head of Operations at Manchester Airport Jennifer Byrne-Smith told us they want things to move as smoothly as possible for their 3.5m passengers:
"This summer we're expecting to see around 95% of our passengers through security in under 30 minutes.
"We've welcomed around 500 security staff into our security team and we have an additional 150 people coming in before August. That all helps us in terms of the experience that our passengers will have when going through security."
Getting back in the holiday habit
Millions of people have not been abroad since summer 2019, and while airports have remained opened for business, many people avoided booking breaks abroad because of fears about destinations being Red-Listed by the Government, or because they were worried about picking up Covid and having to cancel plans.
That means some people are running into trouble at the airport, as they re-adjust to holiday-mode
And others are forgetting to check how COVID restrictions are impacting their travel plans based on restrictions in their final destination.
And don't forget Brexit - we're not part of the EU anymore so some of the rules around travel have changed too.
More holiday hacks
ABTA have put together a handy guide to make your summer run smoothly