Flight cancellations are continuing at British airports as the travel industry struggles with staff shortages
About two million people are set to fly over the bank holiday, in one of the busiest periods so far this year
More than 150 UK flights were cancelled on Wednesday and some passengers who could travel had to wait in long queues
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says airlines and operators have "seriously oversold flights and holidays"
But airlines have blamed the government for tough Covid restrictions - meaning they had to lay off staff - and a lack of support
Eurostar says its stations in London and Paris are very busy - pictures of long queues have been posted on social media
When it comes to travel, and disruption in particular, Simon Calder knows what he's talking about.
The travel journalist and broadcaster will be joining us shortly to answer your questions on flight cancellations, your rights and what your summer holidays might look like.
What do you want to know? Tweet #BBCyourquestions
Image source, Simon Calder
Image source, Chris ThompsonIt's not just holidaymakers leaving the UK having problems, families returning home are having flights cancelled too.
Chris Thompson was due to return with his family from Turkey this morning before his Tui flight to Manchester Airport was cancelled.
The father-of-three described the situation as an "absolute shambles".
After being put up in a hotel overnight, he is hoping to catch an afternoon flight today but says he has heard nothing from the company.
He tells the BBC: "We got to the airport at 10pm last night and we didn’t leave until after 3am. Not at one point did a Tui rep come through.”
Image source, ReutersWe're getting a bit more from holiday giant Tui, which has cancelled six flights a day for the rest of June from Manchester airport.
They say they're "incredibly sorry" and everyone affected by these cancellations has been notified.
Quote Message“We understand that last minute cancellations are incredibly disappointing and we would like to reassure our customers that we are doing everything we can to get them on holiday as planned.”
Tui, Travel company
Tui says the vast majority of its flights are operating as planned, with 26,000 travellers taking off on holiday yesterday.
Kully Sandhu, from the Aviation Recruitment Network, has worked in the industry for more than 20 years.
He says the current problems are more difficult than many other crises airlines have faced over the years - such as volcanic ash clouds and baggage handler strikes.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he says Covid pandemic restrictions resulted in many employees being let go, which means there is now a shortage of talented and skilled staff.
He says it's only been 12 weeks since governments around the world relaxed all travel restrictions. To have a full quota of staff in that short space of time is impossible he says.
An update from Gatwick airport now – the airport is currently operating normally but will be busy, a spokesperson says, with around 756 flights.
Passengers are still being advised to arrive as soon as check-in opens for their flight.
Typically, this is three hours for long-haul and 2-2.5 hours for short-haul, they say.
As of 11:00 BST, there were no queues for airport security in the north or south terminal and check-in areas were busy but with no significant queuing.
Steve Harris tweeted that he had arrived earlier this morning on the Gatwick Express at 8:45, and dropped his bags and cleared security by 9:05. He said there were "huge queues" for food though.
Check Gatwick's arrivals and departures here, external.
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Image source, Getty ImagesWhen a flight is cancelled fewer than seven days before the scheduled departure, airlines are obliged to inform those affected of their rights, and:
If a flight is cancelled with less than two weeks' notice, passengers may be entitled to additional compensation payments depending on the timings of any alternative flights:
Passengers who receive little or no notice about their cancelled flight, and ultimately arrive much later at their destination, may be entitled to extra compensation payments.
Airlines are also expected to provide refreshments and accommodation as required while their customers await their new flight - or reimburse reasonable costs later on.
People on affected package holidays booked through members of Abta, external have the right to alternative arrangements at no extra cost or a full refund without delay.
Get more info here.
Image source, Steve ButcherSteve and Tracey went to Paphos two years ago - they're desperately hoping they'll be going back
Steve Butcher says his wife was in tears after they woke up to an email this morning from Tui telling them their flight to Greece had been cancelled.
The couple, from Gravesend, Kent, had been looking forward to starting their holiday today in Paphos, before the airline emailed in the night.
He says: "My wife is in tears, she was so looking forward to it.
"We were all packed and ready to go."
They have since been told their Gatwick Airport flight has been rescheduled for 08:40 BST tomorrow and they are considering booking a hotel so they can arrive early at the airport.
He asks: "But what if it gets cancelled again?"
More than 150 UK flights have been cancelled today and many passengers who could travel are waiting in long queues at airports.
EasyJet cancelled at least 31 flights at Gatwick, including to destinations such as Bologna, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; Krakow, Poland; and Edinburgh.
British Airways axed 124 short-haul flights at Heathrow, but the airline says passengers were given advance notice.
Holiday giant Tui is cancelling six flights a day at Manchester Airport until the end of June, affecting around 34,000 travellers in all.
The vast majority of flights across the board will go ahead as scheduled, Airlines UK has said.
Track live travel info from some of the main travel hubs here:
Image source, EPASimple answer: staff shortages. But why?
The airline industry has struggled to recruit replacements for the thousands of workers it laid off during the pandemic.
Before Covid, airports and airlines across Britain employed around 140,000 people, but since then thousands of jobs have been cut, including around 30,000 for UK airlines alone.
Since demand for flights has returned, the industry has been “overwhelmed”, says Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency and a former Virgin Atlantic director.
He says pandemic travel restrictions created the problem, and without certainty over when rules would be eased, the industry was not able to recruit more staff.
But the transport secretary said airlines and operators had "seriously oversold flights and holidays".
Airlines UK said the sector had "only a matter of weeks to recover and prepare for one of the busiest summers we've seen in many years".
Image source, EPAGood morning, and welcome to our live coverage of the travel disruption faced by thousands trying to head off on their Jubilee bank holiday getaway.
Holidaymakers are still facing problems at airports, with more than 150 flights cancelled today and long queues at terminals.
Over the next few hours we're going to be answering your travel questions, talking about your rights if your flight is cancelled, and explaining how to keep across the latest info to keep your bank holiday weekend running as smoothly as possible.
Stick with us.