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Original poster

Has the flight chaos put you off?

67 replies

Rayn22 · 27/06/2022 18:18

Just that really. A couple of friends have hard a horrendous time with flight cancellations and a friend is has currently sitting on a runway for three hours waiting for people to get through queues!
Have decided to give going abroad a miss and going to stay in the UK. I know the weather will be shit but I can't face the potential stress. Might be a breeze and go perfectly well but does not make it a fun run up to a holiday knowing I might be queuing or having flights cancelled or affected by strikes.
Has the current travel madness put you off?

OP posts:
Charlieiscool · 27/06/2022 18:58

Jet2 were brilliant out of Leeds yesterday. Plenty of cheerful staff working hard and no waiting. Too many people came too early so there was a crowd after security but still space to sit.

TheLeadbetterLife · 27/06/2022 18:59

Acheyknees · 27/06/2022 18:24

Yes, flying in recent years has become an unpleasant experience, something to be endured. Its now not something I will tolerate. Holidays are expensive and should be enjoyable. I yearn for the days when baggage wasnt obsessively weighed and measured, people were seated together at no extra cost, food was provided and the whole experience was enjoyable!

You can still have all of that if you pay for it. In an old folder of my dad's I found a list of scheduled flights between Gatwick and Faro from 1990. They were £200-£300 each way, just the standard options, nothing special.

Air travel is utterly shit now, but that's inevitable at the prices.

Ilikewinter · 27/06/2022 19:00

I lived for my long haul holidays and honestly cant be bothered now, not just the airport but the jet lag and long flights ....... so tonight im sat on decking at lodge in Wales, lodge is georgous, weather is supposed to be crap but the suns shining and im eating fish and chips ...... happy days 🤣🤣

Manekinek0 · 27/06/2022 19:01

Yes! We have been waiting to book something, it will be our first holiday since 2018, but I'm not prepared to go with all the uncertainty.

dementedpixie · 27/06/2022 19:01

We flew on Saturday with jet2. Flight was delayed by about 30 minutes but the rest went smoothly (flew from Edinburgh airport)

BluOcty · 27/06/2022 19:07

Yes we booked a UK break because we had Easter and Christmas both cancelled due to covid and I couldn't stand another cancellation. We booked a nicer place than usual and I am so excited about it!!!

Kinsters · 27/06/2022 19:10

We live a 13 hour flight away so no choice but to fly if we want to see family. We flew back home from Heathrow a week ago and it was about average. We had to wait in a long cheque in queue but I think that was because of them checking everyone had the right covid forms filled in. Security was quick. Suitcases all made it but the baby's car seat got lost (when we got home we noticed the check in agent didn't peel the small sticker off the baggage tag and stick it onto the bags so that's something to check as we assume our car seats tag fell off and without that small backup sticker there's no way of knowing where it belongs).

It was nice to see family but my god the baby's jet lag 😵

Kinsters · 27/06/2022 19:12

Oh meant to add that immigration when we landed at Heathrow was already busy at 6am and got dramatically worse as we waited in line. Nowhere near enough agents on the desks and I assume that is the same now.

Original poster
Rayn22 · 27/06/2022 19:15

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 27/06/2022 18:34

Have decided to give going abroad a miss and going to stay in the UK. I know the weather will be shit

How do you know for sure the weather? Where are you going and when?

Ok it's likely the weather won't be great! End of August but who knows!

OP posts:
Original poster
Rayn22 · 27/06/2022 19:15

Roselilly36 · 27/06/2022 18:40

Flying hasn’t been a pleasure for years, at the moment the stress would outweigh the benefit of a holiday for me personally. Just seems such a mess, I know a few people that haven’t gone on planned trips, absolute pain when you are waiting at the gate to be told their flights have been cancelled. I wouldn’t dream of booking at the moment, school hols coming up will put further pressure on airports/airlines. I hope people that have holidays booked manage to get away.

This is it. I am not desperate for a holiday so will give it a miss.

OP posts:
Original poster
Rayn22 · 27/06/2022 19:17

ManonDe · 27/06/2022 18:53

Yes. we wanted to go abroad for the first time since October 2019 to visit family. But I have a SN child and simply cannot risk any issues as it would be ridiculously traumatic for him.

Adding that conisderation into every other fucking shit storm that is our daily lives means we are not going anywhere - again- for 3 years.

Sorry to hear this. Can you not manage a couple of days away in the UK close to home.

OP posts:
Original poster
Rayn22 · 27/06/2022 19:18

Minibea · 27/06/2022 18:54

Yes absolutely. We were looking at booking a cheap(ish!) getaway in the summer but have instead decided on a UK getaway because we’ll be travelling with kids (1 and 5) and frankly I can’t face additional drama or delays on top of an already stressful experience. Plus the passport delay adds an extra layer of uncertainty on to the whole thing

We had that problem too I cancelled my holiday till later on in the year and the passport came the day after I should have travelled!

OP posts:
Original poster
Rayn22 · 27/06/2022 19:19

MadMadMadamMim · 27/06/2022 18:57

Yes. I agree with @Acheyknees whole post, really. As I can't afford to fly first or business class I'm no longer prepared to put up with the hideous experience that 'summer holiday abroad' consists of as far as airlines are concerned.

Hours early for checking in beforehand. Queues. Heat/nowhere to sit/delays (generally at the return airport). Rip off prices for food/drink. Tiny cramped seats both in airport and on plane. Children shrieking/lack of parental control. Baggage handling.

The whole experience makes me shudder at the thought. I can't bear to spend thousands of pounds to be stressed and miserable - and I find that by the time I get home I hardly feel 'rested'. I'd rather not bother. Holidays now are really for the rich, as well. Or at least those who are prepared to spend a large % of their spare income on a 'holiday'.

I would struggle to come up with the money for a 'family' holiday - a minimum of 2 or 3,000 pounds in August I imagine. And I can think of many things I'd rather spend that money on.

So will you still go in the UK?

OP posts:
Original poster
Rayn22 · 27/06/2022 19:19

Charlieiscool · 27/06/2022 18:58

Jet2 were brilliant out of Leeds yesterday. Plenty of cheerful staff working hard and no waiting. Too many people came too early so there was a crowd after security but still space to sit.

This is my local airport too!

OP posts:
Original poster
Rayn22 · 27/06/2022 19:20

Ilikewinter · 27/06/2022 19:00

I lived for my long haul holidays and honestly cant be bothered now, not just the airport but the jet lag and long flights ....... so tonight im sat on decking at lodge in Wales, lodge is georgous, weather is supposed to be crap but the suns shining and im eating fish and chips ...... happy days 🤣🤣

Sounds perfect! Enjoy!

OP posts:
justasking111 · 27/06/2022 19:26

TheLeadbetterLife · 27/06/2022 18:59

You can still have all of that if you pay for it. In an old folder of my dad's I found a list of scheduled flights between Gatwick and Faro from 1990. They were £200-£300 each way, just the standard options, nothing special.

Air travel is utterly shit now, but that's inevitable at the prices.

Show quote history

1986 June Man to Faro £100 each return Thursday to Thursday accommodation £30.

Flights need to be a lot more expensive as does accommodation if people are to be paid a salary that attracts them and accommodation be paid a fair amount for wages and infrastructure decoration.

We are abusing both staff and hosts these days.

GrandSlamFinalee · 27/06/2022 19:30

It hasn’t put me off no, but I don’t get much of a choice as I travel a lot for work anyway.

I’ve done 6 flights just this month and the worst I had was a 1h delay. Had a transatlantic flight yesterday and we even landed an hour early, after taking off ahead of schedule.

I cope by travelling on hand luggage only - most of the time, having priority check-in / boarding with certain airlines, and having my liquids etc extremely well organised before getting in the queue.

Half the security queues are caused by people who haven’t packed their liquids properly, or have forgotten electronics inside a bag so it goes on to extra manual search, etc. It’s very frustrating because a lot of it it’s caused by passengers themselves. People shouldn’t be turning up 5 hours ahead of their flights, that will only cause further congestion everywhere.

chocolatesaltyballs22 · 27/06/2022 19:33

Excellent, all you people who are avoiding travelling will make it quieter for me!

Have flown three times this year and two more trips planned. Bit more queueing than usual but worth it for the lovely break in my opinion.

MaJoady · 27/06/2022 19:40

I'm not put off, but I probably would be if I was travelling with kids. As it is, I'm going to go with a good book and a pair of headphones and prepared for everything to take longer.

I have decided I'm not taking hold luggage though, as that removes one of the major risks at the minute.

Ozgirl75 · 27/06/2022 19:41

We flew into Heathrow Terminal 3 yesterday from Australia and we were prepared for long waits at immigration and for bags, we’d even done a careful splitting of clothes in case one bag went missing. Anyway, we were off the plane and out the terminal in 40 minutes. We were so quick that my parents, who came to meet us in an expected tearful reunion (haven’t seen them for 2 1/2 years) were still having a coffee nearby.
Everyone was friendly and efficient, there was zero queue for passports (families were being sent through separately) and bags were coming through as normal.

BlueShoesKate · 27/06/2022 19:45

It's not put me off. Just back from Italy, UK airport fine, Naples a bit crazy but not any worse than before. It was worth it to spend some time away in one of my favourite places.

bigbluebus · 27/06/2022 20:00

We're hoping to go away in September but haven't booked yet. We like to fly from one of the smaller regional airports (we hate Manchester Airport with a passion). Problem is that lots of the less common/busy destinations have been cut from the schedules. So we're struggling to find flights to anywhere we want to go.

Crikeyalmighty · 27/06/2022 20:08

At Gatwick next Monday for flight to Palma, it is easyjet too, so will let you know! Paid for fast security and lounge access and seats bang up front. Short of going first class these days which we can't afford, I'm paying for every add on going , just going for less time to balance cost- 8 days instead of 11

gottaloveascamhun · 27/06/2022 20:10

I was lucky enough to fly with no issues in late May and had a great time, especially as it was a child free break with DH 😉 for our family holiday we are driving to France.

Ragwort · 27/06/2022 20:13

Yes - have no desire to fly or go overseas, in fact my passport has expired and I am in no hurry to renew it.