The National Insurance increase has also kicked in, with warnings of four Bank of England interest rate rises to come too.

Here are the key headlines affecting travel on Wednesday 6 March.

Travellers face Easter chaos at airports

Travellers face chaos at Britain’s busiest airports for several weeks as massive queues and cancelled flights continue to derail Easter getaways. More than 1,140 flights have been grounded at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham – with easyJet and British Airways both cutting 60 and 98 flights respectively yesterday. (The Daily Mail)

Emergency services on standby at Manchester airport 

Police and fire officers are on standby to maintain order at Manchester airport amid warnings chaos at check-in desks will continue for days. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said he is ready to call in emergency services to help. The airport’s managing director Karen Smart announced that she was stepping down “to pursue fresh career opportunities”. (The Telegraph)

P&O Ferries tells customers to avoid Dover over Easter

Tens of thousands of P&O Ferries customers will have their Easter holidays ruined after they were urged to stay away from Dover. Rival operators will be unable to honour P&O tickets this weekend because services are already full. P&O, DFDS, and the Channel Tunnel have a reciprocal arrangement allowing them to accept each other’s tickets in an emergency. (The Telegraph)

Record levels of Covid infections

The UK is in the grip of an “unprecedented wave” of Covid infections. The Omicron sub-variant BA.2 has fuelled a resurgence of the virus, with England the highest it has ever been during the pandemic. Covid prevalence jumped to 6.37% in March – equivalent to around 4.3 million people. The previous high in January was 4.41%. (The i)

National Insurance rise takes effect

The burden of tax falling on workers and employers has increased as a hotly-debated rise in National Insurance payments takes effect. Employees, businesses and the self-employed will pay an extra 1.25p in the pound. The extra tax is earmarked for government spending on social care. (BBC News)

P&O Ferries chef to sue

A former P&O Ferries chef is suing the company and its chief executive claiming unfair dismissal, racial discrimination and harassment. John Lansdown is the only seafarer to take legal action after 800 staff were sacked without notice last month. He accuses P&O of treating him unfavourably as he is British and eligible for minimum wage. (BBC News)

‘Four interest rate rises this year’

The Bank of England will hike interest rates at the quickest pace since 1988 this year as it scrambles to douse rampant inflation. Borrowing costs will rise four more times this year, taking the calendar year total number of hikes to six, according to investment banking giant JP Morgan. (City AM)