Manchester Airport: Police could help tackle 'chaos', mayor says

Police and fire and rescue service staff could be drafted in to help tackle the chaos at Manchester Airport, the region's mayor has said. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is meeting airport bosses to discuss the "concerning" current situation. Travellers have criticised long delays and missed flights over the weekend. Burnham said he would be seeking reassurance about what is being done to bring the situation under control, but will also offer his support. Travellers at the airport have faced long queues for check-in and security over the past month, with some missing flights at the start of the Easter school holidays. Manchester Airport has previously apologised and said the industry was "facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges". "I have been in touch with colleagues at Greater Manchester Police at the weekend to see what we can do to support the airport," Mr Burnham said. "It's a difficult moment for airports around the world having laid low for the pandemic, they've had to scale up very quickly. But at the same time, we don't want to see the scenes that we saw at the weekend and we obviously need to work with them to work through those issues and make sure we're managing those things and giving the right information to the public and being clear about the plan to get things to an acceptable level."<br/>