Bank holiday travellers are once again facing lengthy queues at airports, as the industry continues to struggle with demand despite hundreds of flights being cancelled in the last week.

Passengers at Gatwick waited 70 minutes to get through security on Thursday morning, with travellers at Manchester Airport reporting similar delays, while a massive, snaking queue leading towards scanners was pictured at Stansted.

It comes after more than 150 flights were cancelled by British Airways and EasyJet on Wednesday, ruining getaway plans for thousands of holidaymakers at the start of the four-day Platinum Jubilee weekend.

Stansted 6am pic.twitter.com/V6dFoJo3LU

Nick Francis, 36, a doctor from London, arrived at Gatwick Airport at 7am, three-and-a-half hours before his flight to Madrid was scheduled to depart.

He told i: “As I was basically the first person there, I got through security by about 7.20am.

“But it was then it was about 70 minutes in the security line just to get to the X-ray machine. That was with fast-track security actually, as well.

“So it was probably an extra half-an-hour on top of that if you were in normal security.

“And then obviously, once you’re through, literally everyone comes through in departures as well, so it’s pretty busy.”

50 mins in this queue at security T2 and still no where near get your act together @manairport 4 security belts working what a joke! pic.twitter.com/ykBWtQiUzE

Passenger numbers were definitely higher than normal, Mr Francis said, but staffing levels seemed sufficient.

He added: “All the lanes are in security are open. There were staff pushing people through and taking people out to the lines as well.

“If someone was going to miss their flight, they were brought to the front. But it was just too many people.”

Holidaymakers have endured travel chaos this half-term after hundreds of flights were cancelled at short notice, while huge security queues and lost luggage have been widespread.

Staff shortages have been blamed, after thousands of aviation workers were made redundant during the pandemic, with airlines facing further recruitment challenges.

Passengers flying over the bank holiday weekend have been advised only to take cabin bags to avoid delays.

Andy Prendergast, national secretary of the GMB union, suggested travellers could improve their chances of catching flights by skipping lengthy check-in queues.

He said: “If people can check in online and do not take bags, that limits the disruption.”

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