Mr Raab said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps had been talking to the industry for months about the return in demand, warning that 'this will come and that you need to make sure that you've got your recruitment in place'. British Airways has cancelled at least 124 short-haul flights at London Heathrow Airport today, although said passengers were given advance notice - while easyJet cancelled at least 31 flights at Gatwick, including to destinations such as Bologna, Italy Barcelona, Spain Prague, Czech Republic Krakow, Poland and Edinburgh. As chaos continued at airports across Britain today with 20 per cent of all flights now affected, the Deputy Prime Minister condemned airlines for a 'lack of preparation' for the post-pandemic surge in demand from tourists. A furious row between airlines and the UK Government deepened today as Dominic Raab accused them of failing to heed ministers' warnings to recruit enough staff - and pointed out they had been given £8billion of support.
