Leaked letter reveals Priti Patel knew about Easter travel chaos in March
A leaked letter has revealed Home Secretary Priti Patel was informed about Easter travel chaos last month.
Aviation trade body Airlines UK – which represents the majority of carriers operating in the country – told Patel a shortage of Border Force staff could lead to travel disruption and chaos ahead of the peak season.
Airlines’ bosses called for Patel, who in March sent Border Force agents to deal with Dover’s migrant situation, “to address the challenges ahead,” the Telegraph reported.
“Border Force has signalled that the resourcing of the border this summer is expected to be ‘challenging’ and ‘bumpy’ as passenger numbers increase,” read the letter.
“Avoiding a travel season marred by scenes at airports that were too common pre-pandemic, with immigration queues of more than two hours at key gateways broadcast around the world, must be a priority.”
The Home Office replied the number one priority was maintaining a “secure border,” adding that current delays were not its responsibility.
“Border Force’s number one priority is to maintain a secure border, and we will not compromise on this,” said a Home Office spokesperson. “We are mobilising additional staff to help minimise queuing times for passengers and will continue to deploy our staff flexibly to manage this demand.”
A shortage of staff at both airports and airlines has caused massive disruption over the last seven days, forcing carriers such as British Airways (BA) and easyJet to axe hundreds of flights, City PM reported.
BA today cancelled 53 EU flights to and from Heathrow while easyJet slashed 23 services from Gatwick.
EasyJet’s chief executive Johan Lundgren told journalists yesterday a delay in the vetting of new staff was a contributing factor to the Covid-induced shortage of personnel.
The airline said it was not blaming Whitehall but it was actually working with the wider aviation ecosystem to put an end to the issue.
“We do not blame the government, on the contrary we, alongside our partners including DfT, have all been doing what we can to expedite the process so that we can get more crew onboard in the short term.”