After two years of pandemic, there are extra people who are looking forward to traveling abroad this summer.
Lately, however, has delivery time on passports and national ID cards has been a record longand the passport crisis can put sticks in the wheels for the long-awaited holiday for over half a million Norwegians.
But it is not painless for travelers in other European countries either. In April, experts warned about that summer was going to be chaotic because the airlines have not been able to manpower quickly enough to meet the demand after two years of pandemic and a reduced number of employees.
Already now – just under a month before the great summer rush – several international airports are reporting complete chaos.
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Waited for hours
Airport chaos has dominated the British press for a long time – and this weekend was no exception. This time, the worst problems arose at the airport in Manchester, where thousands were hit by huge delays, according to Manchester Evening News.
– It has just been chaos. We have moved from queue to queue and waited for six hours without being told if our plane would take off at all. There are many children who scream and cry, says Sharon Marie to the newspaper.
QUEUE FROM GARAGE FACILITIES: The queue at Manchester Airport started in the garage facility. Photo: Ioannis Alexopoulos / Shutterstock / NTB
sea view
She says that the vending machines at the airport are empty of food and that the restaurants are closed.
– People are tired, hungry and stressed. It is absolutely incredible that the families here can not get anything to eat, she says.
Also for Aisha Marzouq, who was to travel from Manchester to Kuwait on Sunday morning, the journey became extra long.
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– We boarded the plane at 14.30 – two hours after the original departure – but due to staffing problems with the luggage delivery, we could not take off. We were trapped inside the plane for four and a half hours, she tells the Manchester Evening News.
Earlier this week, travelers were forced to sleep on the floor overnight due to major delays at Manchester Airport.
The enormous waiting time and poor customer service have made several travelers furious. In a statement on Sunday night, the airport apologized for the inconvenience caused to travelers, and stressed that they would investigate the cause of the problems, according to the newspaper.
CHAOS: Travelers talk about chaotic scenes at Manchester Airport this weekend. Photo: Ioannis Alexopoulos / Shutterstock / NTB
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KLM stops sales
There have also been major problems at Europe’s third busiest airport, Schiphol in the Dutch city of Amsterdam.
The queues have occasionally stretched all the way out on the street, and travelers have had to wait for hours to get through the security checkpoint.
Thursday announced it Dutch airline KLM that they stop the sale of airline tickets for all departures out of Schiphol until Monday. The reason is that the airport is struggling to handle the large crowds due to lack of security personnel.
– The summer is getting chaotic
It was also recently announced that SAS will cut 4,000 flights this summer due to a lack of crew and delayed flight deliveries.
– This is to be careful, to avoid a situation where it turns out that we can not fly and that passengers are without offers, said press manager of SAS, John Eckhoff, to Dagbladet Børsen earlier in May.
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