Transport secretary Grant Shapps waded into the debate on Wednesday, but industry bodies and figures say the problem at UK airports is as much of Westminster’s making.

Elsewhere, Sri Lanka’s economic crisis appears to be worsening with an appeal for food aid.

Here are the travel headlines making national news on Wednesday 1 June.

Flights and holidays ‘oversold’, says Shapps

Airlines and operators have "seriously oversold flights and holidays" relative to their capacity to deliver, transport secretary Grant Shapps has said. Shapps said it had been "very distressing" to see people facing more disruption at airports with "holidays cancelled and plans left in disarray". (BBC News)

Airlines warn disruption will persist

Airlines fear disruption at UK airports will continue into the summer as the industry struggles to deal with growing passenger numbers. Airlines for Europe, Europe’s largest airline association, expects problems plaguing the UK and Europe to persist “for a good chunk of the summer season”, according to a briefing document. (Financial Times)

Aviation bosses urge government to cut red tape to aid recruitment

Aviation bosses are in crisis talks with ministers over accessing tax records that would help them to recruit more staff quickly and end airport chaos. Industry figures want ministers to tweak employment rules so they can validate candidates using HMRC records instead of a five-year job history. (The Times)

Pilot calls police to free passengers

A pilot was forced to call police to help hundreds of passengers disembark an “abandoned” plane after they were left sat on the runway for three hours due to staff shortages. Ground crew took so long to load luggage that the Tui flight from Manchester was cancelled, before “abandoning” them on the tarmac. (The Daily Mail)

‘Pay airport staff better to aid retention’

Opposition leaders in Ireland have called for better pay and conditions for security personnel to improve recruitment and retention. Catherine Murphy, co-leader of the Social Democrats, and Ivana Bacik of the Labour Party, said low pay and uncertain working hours were part of the problem at Dublin airport, where more than 1,500 people missed flights last weekend. (The Times)

Iata blames security clearance logjam for airport chaos

Iata has blamed the half-term gridlock besetting UK airports on a problem with getting clearances for new staff, saying the time taken to approve recruits has more than tripled. Director general Willie Walsh said it was now taking as long as three months to get security badges for new UK employees, compared with three to four weeks previously, meaning potential staff were seeking other jobs. (The Guardian)

Family waits 17 hours to depart on Tui flight

A father is "seething" after his family were forced to wait 17 hours to board a plane at Birmingham airport. Adam Ashbery, 38, was scheduled to fly with Tui to Kefalonia at about 15:30 on Sunday with his wife, Sarah, and two children – aged four months and five years. However, a series of delays and "flight issues" meant the family did not take off until the following day. (BBC News)

Sri Lanka appeals for food aid

Sri Lanka is seeking about 100,000 metric tonnes of food either as donations or subsidised sales as its debt crisis worsens. The country, which defaulted on international debts of more than $50 billion last month, has been wracked by severe shortages of essential goods since it effectively ran out of foreign reserves. (Financial Times)