Between the start of the Easter Holidays and Good Friday, 640 flights at Heathrow had been cancelled. Gatwick was in second place with 221, with Luton a distant third with 60 flights axed. There were 51 cancellations at Manchester. 

Manchester, by contrast, claims to have kept flights running so that customers did not have to divert to other airports, at the cost of bigger queues.

“We took the decision that people would rather stand in long queues than spend their Easter holiday on their coaches,” says one insider at the airport.

This approach failed to spare the airline from travellers’ wrath. Managing director Karen Smart resigned earlier this month following widespread criticism of the airport’s handling of the situation, and Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham even threatened to call in the police and fire brigade for crowd control.

Meanwhile, the worst could be yet to come as Easter holidaymakers return to the UK. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, was urged a month ago by airlines to beef up staffing of passport controls.

Many Border Force staff were redeployed during the pandemic to deal with the English Channel migrant crisis. “There were some concerns that a lot of Border Force staff had been taken out of airports and whether we would get them back again,” one senior executive told the Telegraph last week.  

According to a leaked letter to Patel, Border Force had already warned that “resourcing of the border this summer is expected to be ‘challenging’ and ‘bumpy’ as passenger numbers increase”.

The Home Office is warning of “longer wait times than usual due a high number of passengers” at the border.

“We are mobilising additional staff to help minimise queuing times for passengers,” a Home Office spokesman added.

‘Temporary blip’

Aviation leaders are determined not to let this Easter’s experience put travellers off going abroad again.

“Regardless of what caused the problems, we all now need to get back on top of things as quickly as we can,” says one airport director.

“People need to see that this was a temporary blip and that travel will get back to normal again soon.”

Charles adds: “I think it’s understandable that the sector wouldn’t cope with that, however good your management, it’s really hard to cope with that snapback in demand.”

However, Charles fears that the long queues at airports this Easter will mean families with younger children in particular decide to stay away. With ticket prices surging for future holidays – to more than £1,000 for a family return trip to Malaga, according to the travel website Skyscanner – there is no doubt that some people will think again.

“Without doubt, sadly, I think it’s a knock to the reputation of smooth travel,” Charles says.

“Overseas travel’s loss is the UK’s gain. Because staycations will benefit and boom again. Maybe about 10pc of people who would have travelled overseas, who will say: ‘I can’t deal with the risk. I will book somewhere in the UK and travel by car or train.’ 

“There are still plenty of people who are nervous about travelling post pandemic, they can’t be bothered still with some of the restrictions, they will just say: ‘why take the risk?”

Domestic bookings suggest this is happening already. Holiday park operator Haven says nearly half of its 2.5 million visitors this year are booking for the first time. And rival Parkdean Resorts is seeking to hire 7,000 additional staff across its 66 sites to keep up with surging demand. 

Budget hotel chain Travelodge, meanwhile, has been a winner from the Easter chaos.

“The current severe airport delays are also creating a desperate need for travellers to stay at an airport Travelodge so that they can get some sleep before hitting the long check-in airport queues,” a spokesman says.         

Nevertheless, O’Leary is resolutely bullish about the situation. “People have been locked up for two years, they want to go on holidays,” he says.

“The airports and the airlines in the UK are struggling because of the very strength of a travel recovery.

“Flying is considerably better than trying to get a ferry at the moment with all the P&O Ferries locked up. It’s considerably better than driving around the f****** roadwork-ridden motorways that have the UK trying to get to Cornwall or Cotswolds.

“Flying is by far and away a better family experience this Easter holidaying at home in wet and windy Britain.”