EasyJet cancels more than 200 flights over weekend amid airport and Eurtotunnel travel chaos

Travellers embarking on Easter trips faced chaos on Monday as more flights were cancelled by struggling airlines and cross-Channel rail services were hit by major delays. Airlines are suffering from staff shortages related to coronavirus sickness, leading to flights being grounded. Eurotunnel warned its vehicle-carrying Le Shuttle rail services from Folkestone, Kent to Calais, France were delayed by three hours due to “a train stopped temporarily in the tunnel”. The travel disruption is affecting many families heading abroad for the Easter school holiday, which is the first since the UK’s coronavirus restrictions for international travellers were dropped. EasyJet cancelled 62 flights scheduled for Monday, after axing at least 222 flights across Saturday and Sunday. A spokesperson for the airline said: “As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses easyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness.” The spokesperson added that the number of cancellations “represents a small proportion” of the total of 1,645 planned for Monday. British Airways cancelled at least 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport on Monday, although only a handful were last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages.<br/>