Right on cue, as we gear up for our Easter getaways, a perfect storm of flight cancellations, airport queues and technical issues are stopping holidaymakers in their tracks.

Over the weekend EasyJet cancelled more than 200 flights due to staff shortages, and British Airways cancelled 90 this morning leaving passengers stranded overseas, just one week after the latest IT meltdown for the flag carrier. There have also been reports of queues and baggage control delays at Heathrow and Manchester airports, also due to staff shortages.

Here we take a look at the five stumbling blocks that could affect your next holiday, and how to minimise your chance of getting caught up in the chaos.

Covid staff shortages

This week’s travel chaos has been caused by staff absences due to a surge in Covid cases. EasyJet and British Airways have reported cancellations or delays, as have airports around the country. The law in the UK has now changed so that, if you contract Covid, you are no longer legally obliged to test or self isolate, although it is recommended that you stay at home if you feel poorly.

Will it ruin my holiday? 

In a worst-case scenario your flight will be cancelled, in which case you will be eligible for a refund or placed on another service. You will also be owed a refund if you experience delays of a certain length. It is difficult to anticipate how long this Covid wave will last and when there will be another surge in cases, so the only way to avoid staff shortages blighting your holiday will be to hold fire and book your holiday at the last minute, during a time of relatively low Covid cases in the UK. However, adopting this tactic will likely mean higher prices. The other way will be to keep a firm eye on which airports and airlines are suffering the hardest right now, and which are coping well, and to take note for when you book your next holiday.

Non-Covid staff shortages

Passengers at Manchester Airport have faced queues and delays at baggage control for the past fortnight, and the problems are reportedly due to wider problems with staff numbers. A member of staff at the airport, speaking under condition of anonymity, told Cheshire Live: “All the companies in the airport just got rid of far too many staff. Everyone panicked during the pandemic. Now everything is picking up again, we can’t just get the staff back. It’s absolute carnage right now.”

Will it ruin my holiday? 

If you are flying from Manchester Airport in the coming weeks, you may notice queues and delays due to staff shortages. After the recent negative media coverage surrounding the airport and outcry on social media, you would assume that the management will undergo a recruitment campaign to avoid a summer of chaos ahead. The only way to guarantee not getting caught up in the chaos in the short term will be to avoid booking flights via the airport, until operations are back to normal.

IT meltdowns

Last week British Airways experienced yet another IT system failure, the latest in a long line of technical problems for the airline. There have also been issues at the e-gate passport checkpoints at Heathrow Airport, which the Home Office confirmed was due to a “technical issue”.

Will it ruin my holiday? 

It could, yes. While British Airways’ IT failure last week caused lengthy delays, there have been bigger outages in recent memory that have caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights. The problem with BA’s IT meltdowns is that they are impossible to predict, but it seems likely that there will be more. The only way to protect yourself against your holiday being delayed due to sudden IT failures would be to book with an airline with a good track record: Which? runs regular surveys on the best and worst airlines based on a range of criteria, like punctuality and passenger satisfaction.

Disruption at Dover

The suspension of P&O ferry services, and two DFDS vessels being out of action, have caused lengthy delays on the south English coast over the weekend.

Will it ruin my holiday? 

In the short-term, the traffic build-up now appears to be affecting commercial vehicles more than holidaymakers, and DFDS has been running overnight services to clear the backlog. If you are looking to travel to France by ferry in the coming weeks, you will be able to book with DFDS (dfds.com) who run ferries across the Channel every 40 minutes or so, or Irish Ferries (irishferries.com). It is understood that P&O will resume services from Dover to Calais in due course (check Twitter for updates), but for the time being if you are booked with P&O, you are advised to travel to the port as usual and you will be placed on an alternative service. 

Holidays will get more expensive

The war in Ukraine is causing a spike in the price of oil and gas, which is affecting everything from the cost of filling our cars to heating our homes, and indeed going on holiday.

Will it ruin my holiday? 

The rise of gas and oil prices will affect your holiday, although it is unlikely to ruin your getaway. Tour operators are legally only allowed to issue surcharges of 8 per cent due to cost increases. This means that a holiday you have already booked to Greece costing £1,000 can go up to £1,080, max, and the tour operator will have to provide evidence of why the price has spiked. When it comes to flight tickets, many airlines have “hedged” their fuel supplies, meaning the cost of flying with them should remain relatively affordable in the medium term. Due to the laws of supply and demand, it is unlikely that any airlines that have not hedged their fuel supplies will allow their ticket prices to skyrocket while the competition keeps fares affordable. You will, however, notice a bite when filling your car rental on holiday.