Thousands of passengers faced another day of disruption as British Airways cancelled 122 short-haul flights from its Heathrow base on Wednesday, whiles easyJet PLC (easyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ)) and Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) (Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ)) also axed services.
Experts warned the situation might get even worse as workers at several airports vote on strike action.
in particular, BA's check-in and ground staff at Heathrow and who are members of Unite and GMB are being balloted over a pay dispute that could cause more chaos at UK's busiest airport during the summer holidays.
The most affected airport today was Gatwick, with flights to Copenhagen, Dubrovnik and Nice being cancelled, though Bristol Airport was also affected.
Staff shortages and sickness absenteeism in the travel sector have become a familiar refrain when flights are cancelled though today involved Italian airports as wel.
They are also bracing for a strike.
On Tuesday, British Airways cancelled almost 120 flights to and from Heathrow and easyJet more than 60 involving UK airports, while Hungarian carrier Wizz Air cancelled at least seven flights heading to the UK.
Shapps 'absolutely useless' claims former BA boss
Former British Airways boss Willie Walsh meanwhile escalated his war of words about disruption at UK airports, calling out transport secretary Grant Shapps for blaming the industry for hundreds of cancelled flights.
Although Walsh acknowledged some management errors amid a faster-than-expected rebound in travel demand, he said Shapps has been "absolutely useless" in his response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Walsh, who currently leads the industry group IATA, was speaking at a conference in Paris, and downplayed problems at airports, calling them "isolated and sporadic."
The transport department said the government's first priority was securing public health during the pandemic and travel restrictions allowed vaccines to be rolled out on time, while the aviation sector was also given £8bn in support.