Amanda Matthews, owner of Ramsbottom-based Designer Travel, said the situation at Manchester airport was a particular problem. “We’re having to ring every single client who’s travelling and pre-warn them they need to get there earlier, three to four hours earlier," she said.
Matthews stressed there were also issues with Heathrow. “It’s affecting everybody – the problem [for us] is that people who are travelling on a luxury trip expect to have paid to avoid all this. Customers are quick to forget Covid, and the impact it’s had on the travel industry. As a consumer, you think everything is back to normal and OK.
"But a year ago, the travel industry lost lots of people because nobody was travelling. A lot of those people have gone elsewhere for more money and some of them don’t want the stress of coming back. It’s not just in the airports, it’s in hotels, it’s across the board. The expectations of clients are higher than what the industry can deliver.”
David Cookson, manager of Travel Circle in Longridge, said most clients were asking about the situation, forcing the team to look to set their minds at ease. "Everyone is concerned about it," he said. "We are just advising them to get there [to the airport] in good time – three hours or so – and to stick by the rules when they get to security.
"We’ve been pretty fortunate so far – we had one member of the team go through Manchester and it was very smooth. But customers are definitely concerned."
Manchester airport, which has faced the greatest scrutiny, said the removal of all Covid travel restrictions after two years – coupled with the start of the summer travel season – had resulted in a rapid increase in passenger numbers, "placing "enormous strain" on its operations.
A Heathrow spokesperson said the airport had upped staffing levels across its terminals. "The Easter holiday is the first time UK travel restrictions have been fully removed since the start of the pandemic and we are expecting passenger numbers not seen since early March 2020," they said. "We have been preparing for this for many months, but like most airports, we do anticipate that the travel experience may take slightly longer during peak periods."
