The process of security vetting for new airport employees is set to be speeded up to try to ease the staffing crisis at airports ahead of the summer.

Meanwhile, another P&O Ferries’ ship has been detained by authorities for “deficiencies” and the official UK inflation rate reached 7% in March, highlighting the growing cost-of-living crisis faced by households.

Here are the headlines the travel industry woke up to on Wednesday (13 April).

Johnson refuses to quit over lockdown party fine

Boris Johnson has defied calls to resign after he became the first British prime minister found to have broken the law while in office. Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak have both been fined by police for attending a lockdown-breaking birthday party in June 2020. (Various)

Security vetting to beat UK airport queue chaos

Security vetting for new recruits in the aviation sector will be prioritised in a “last-ditch” attempt to avoid long airport queues this summer. The Cabinet Office said that counterterrorism checks for new airport employees would be “expedited”. (The Times)

Passport control staff ‘sent to deal with migrants’

Home secretary Priti Patel was warned a month ago about a looming wave of travel chaos after passport control workers were sent to Dover to deal with the ongoing migrant crisis. Airline bosses told Patel that a lack of Border Force staff could lead to huge queues at airports. (The Telegraph)

P&O Ferries ship detained over ‘deficiencies’

Another P&O Ferries vessel has been detained after Maritime and Coastguard Agency inspectors found a "number of deficiencies". The Spirit of Britain cannot set sail until these issues have been addressed, casting doubt on the company’s plans to resume operations from Dover before the Easter weekend. (BBC News)

Inflation hits 7% in March as UK’s cost of living soars

Households in Britain are coming under renewed financial pressure from the soaring cost of living after the country’s official inflation rate reached 7% last month, which is the fastest increase in three decades. (The Guardian)

Travel chaos raises stakes for BA to restore reputation

British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle faces a new crisis in his battle to restore the carrier’s reputation with delays, cancellations and IT failures hitting operations over recent weeks as the airline struggles to rebuild services. (Financial Times)