Passengers on TUI flights have been encouraged to bring their own food and drink on board after the airline announced its own catering service would be ‘limited’ in the coming days.
In a statement on its website, TUI said the “shortage of staff” had led to the reduction of services for short and medium-haul flights and that it was monitoring the situation.
Long-haul flights will continue to be supported.
The 15 airports affected are Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster Sheffield, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Luton, Manchester, Norwich and Teesside.
“There may be limited food and beverage services available on board TUI Airways short and medium-haul flights over the coming days,” a TUI spokesperson said.
A TUI spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that, unfortunately, due to staff shortages at our catering provider, the food and beverage services available on board TUI Airways short and medium-haul flights may be limited in the coming days.
“Customers may therefore want to bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages on board (alcohol prohibited). All non-alcoholic beverages over 100ml will need to be purchased after passing through security.
“Please note that this disruption does not affect long-haul flights to Aruba, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Orlando and Saint Lucia and meal services on these flights will continue to operate. normally.
“Rest assured that we are continuously monitoring the situation and working closely with our suppliers to limit the impact on onboard service for our customers. We are contacting all affected customers directly.
“We are truly sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
Ms Mason said the Tui pilot told passengers they ‘shouldn’t even have been allowed on the plane’ and ‘he thought we were all put up in hotels that night’ . File image of a Tui airplane
The news comes after a difficult month for air passengers, as fellow carriers British Airways and easyJet both canceled hundreds of flights in April, but not Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, Jet2 and TUI.
In a single day, April 8, British Airways canceled 68 planes to destinations such as Athens and Prague, while easyJet stopped 42.
An easyJet spokesperson said the company had experienced “higher than usual levels of employee illness and therefore we have taken action to cancel some flights in advance”.
BA said: “While the vast majority of our flights continue to operate as planned, as a precaution we have reduced our schedule slightly by the end of May.”
After staff threatened to strike over wages, BA canceled 16,000 more flights on popular routes through October as it grappled with staff shortages.
Chief executive Sean Doyle said an average of 60 daily flights – 16,000 in total – will have been cut between March and autumn – around 10% of all BA flights.
Around 75% of these are short-haul flights to EU hotspots, including Spain and Italy.
After staff threatened to strike over pay, BA canceled 16,000 more flights on popular routes through October as it grappled with staff shortages.
The aviation regulator’s boss then wrote to airlines and airports expressing concern at the level of disruption to passengers.
Civil Aviation Authority chief executive Richard Moriarty wrote: ‘Cases of late notice cancellations and excessive delays at airports are not only distressing to affected consumers but can have an impact on confidence levels in the industry, just as passengers are flying again. ‘
He continued: “We know you are working hard to recruit these new colleagues, but it is clear that this has not always happened quickly enough to cope with the increase in passenger movements in recent days.
“Given the consequences for passengers of canceled and disrupted journeys, I encourage you to do all you can to ensure that you have the necessary level of properly trained and authorized staff resources.”
It is “very important” that airlines establish schedules “on a deliverable basis given the available staff (including contractors) and resistant to staff illnesses, including due to Covid”, added Mr. Moriarty.
An easyJet spokesperson said the company had experienced ‘higher than usual levels of employee illness’ after hundreds of canceled flights last month
TUI made headlines last week after a family waited 14 hours at an airport in Cyprus.
Lisa Mason and her children were due to return to Manchester after enjoying their first holiday since the pandemic.
Arriving at Larnaca airport, they boarded the flight an hour late after being told by Tui that it had been delayed.
Passengers then waited on the grounded plane for three hours before being driven back to the airport and left in the departure lounge.
Ms Mason, from Wolstanton near Newcastle Under Lyme, called the situation “a shambles” and said it had “completely tarnished” the family’s first holiday since the pandemic.
TUI has been contacted for comments.
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