I departed for Cyprus from Birmingham airport just as the ‘travel chaos’ stories started to appear in the press in early April, and it’s widely reported that these are set to continue throughout the summer.

Gilly Bachelor

Firstly, it’s important to note that over 95% of all holidays experienced minimal or no disruption, but of course it’s still important to plan!

It’s clear that some airports and airlines are coping better than others, however, passenger numbers have ramped up considerably since April, and are likely to continue at peak travel times, so you should be prepared for long delays at whichever airport you are travelling from.

The major problem is airline and airport staff shortages due to recruitment challenges and continuing staff absences due to covid. Also, passengers grounded for over two years now, have forgotten the basics, so we’re seeing already long queues at security exacerbated by disorganised passengers, those falling foul of the rules when carrying liquids and then struggling to find paperwork on their phones, or worse still their battery has died.

Also consider all the potential ‘delay points’ – i.e. airport check-in and security, but it’s also important to think about what creates delays when you arrive, having your paperwork in order is one, but right now the biggest delay is often collecting your luggage that was placed in the hold. Therefore, our top tip right now is to travel with cabin luggage only.

Here is our advice:

  1. Book the first flight of the day (if possible!), yes it’s a super early start, but it’s the least likely flight to be delayed or cancelled, and if it is, the likelihood is that you’ll be on a flight departing later than day.
  2. Avoid flying on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday if possible, as this is when airports are less busy.
  3. Make sure the airline has your mobile number and email address, and that you can access this device (make sure it’s fully charged, and you’ve got a separate back-up battery). We’re seeing so many flight cancellations and schedules changes less than 24 hours before departure and notifying you by text is the quickest way to keep you updated.
  4. Pre-allocate your seats as early as possible. Most airlines allow you to pre-allocate your seats on the flight (at an additional fee!) once the flight has been paid in full (and ticketed), many of you choose to do this so you can be guaranteed a seat together, or to secure extra legroom, however, we recommend you allocate your seat to be as close to the front of the plane as possible as getting off first can save you hours queuing when you arrive! If you don’t want to pay the extra, make sure you check-in as soon as it opens to secure the best seat possible. However, there’s a huge caveat here… we’re seeing a lot of schedule and aircraft changes which could mean that you lose your seat allocations, and whilst you’d be entitled to having the extra money you’ve paid refunded you would have to rebook your seats (if it is possible to do so).
  5. Check-in online before you depart for the airport, and print EVERYTHING off – boarding passes, vaccination certificates, test results, destination entry forms (these vary by country), hotel vouchers, flight vouchers, car hire voucher, transfers …EVERYTHING! And have it in an order that is easy to access, yes even colour-coordinated tags are not overkill here, the travel industry will thank you for being so organised!
  6. Embrace travel technology where possible for example use VeriFLY (see who supports it here) to get pre-approved for travel, and you might just breeze through the airport!
  7. Make sure you have plenty of time at the airport. The standard advice is 2 hours for a short-haul flight and 3 hours for a long-haul flight; this is not long enough right now during busy periods, and we would add AT LEAST an hour to this. If you’ve booked an airport lounge, you’ll want to make sure you have time to enjoy it, as it can be very frustrating when you’re finally through security that you’re dashing to the departure gate as your flight is boarding.
  8. Consider buying a Priority Security Pass, we struggle with this recommendation as if your journey was like ours through Birmingham Airport, it would have been a complete waste of money (it look less than 30 minutes), however for colleagues travelling from Manchester Airport recently it saved them at least an hour in security, despite this they did have to wait an hour before even getting into the priority queue, but unlike others they did not miss their flight.
  9. Check the weight of your bags and make sure your hand luggage is compliant! Check and double-check. All these small delays add-up to create backlogs for passengers, plus if your bag is identified for additional screening, you could be delayed for a further hour or more as you wait for a member of staff to check it, and if you’re already tight for time you could miss your flight.
  10. We like our clients to have an airport lounge booked so they can relax before their flight, but right now we just cannot be sure how much time they’ll have in the lounge, if they make it in there at all. So we recommend taking a refillable water bottle with you and snacks, as you may just find yourself running to the departure gate!
  11. If your flight is indirect, i.e. you need to get off one flight to board another to get to your final destination make sure you have enough time – right now we do not recommend any connection times of less than 3 hours!
  12. And finally, please try and stay patient and calm. I know these delays are really frustrating and it’s easy to get stressed and angry, but sadly this will not change the outcome, so just be as flexible and prepared as you can be, and visualise yourself enjoying a lovely cocktail when you finally arrive…

Advice, recommendations and tips are made in good faith at the time of writing, however, things are constantly changing therefore it’s essential that you remain up-to-date with any requirements that may impact your holiday.