Why the Easter holiday airport chaos is a good sign you should spend your holiday here in Yorkshire - Mark Casci

For many passengers the need for passenger locator forms, expensive tests and masks on flights has proven to be too much for many months, with travellers instead electing to stay home and wait for normal circumstances to return.

Now that these restrictions have been eased one would expect that the aerospace industry would be ready, willing and able to facilitate a glorious return for passengers.

Instead, it seems increasingly obvious that foreign travel is proving to be a nightmare for those involved.

As the Easter holidays begin and families look to leave UK shores for the first time in more than two years, we are being made aware of scenes, not of smiling passengers jetting off to catch some sun, but instead of sustained delays and cancellations.

Travellers embarking on overseas trips faced chaos as flights were cancelled and cross-Channel rail services were hit by major delays.

EasyJet cancelled 62 flights scheduled for Monday, after axing at least 222 flights across Saturday and Sunday.

Airports, particularly Manchester but also our own Leeds Bradford, have seen passengers stuck in interminable queues, in some cases missing their flights.

Some holidaymakers reported being stuck abroad with no explanation or alternative route home offered by the airline.

Meanwhile, 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”.

And the debacle at P&O Ferries, a source of shame for UK industry, has left passengers with further limited options.

Much of the delay issues for UK airlines relate to staff shortages.

Coronavirus sickness levels have rocketed, leading to flights being grounded due to lack of pilots, cabin crew and on the ground support.

This adds to an already acute staffing crisis as airlines and airports battle with roll calls well below those seen prior to the pandemic, with many staffers having left to pursue new careers after so many months of furlough.

There seems to be little prospect that foreign travel will resemble pre-pandemic levels any time soon.

With this in mind I have a constructive proposal; why not just stay home?

The UK staycation market has flourished as a result of Covid. Each passing day seems to bring at least three or four press releases heralding the opening of expansion of holiday lets in and around Yorkshire.

While the aerospace industry has buckled under reopening, domestic tourism has flourished.

The popularity of staycations had been slowly rising in the five years leading up to the pandemic and went through the roof in 2020 and 2021.

Research published by Barclays last spring predicted spending on domestic holidays would top £31bn, with Yorkshire named alongside the likes of Devon and the Lake District as among the more popular destinations. It is easy to see why.

We all know Yorkshire’s landscape remains second to none. My family and I enjoyed a glorious stay in Keld in the Dales last July.

It was absolute heaven and ran us a fraction of what we would have spent on an international trip (although my choosing to cycle 60-plus miles from my home in Leeds to the campsite with a much fitter friend was a strategic error).

However, with powerhouse culturally vibrant cities like Sheffield, York and Leeds, city breaks offer much to holidaymakers.

Given the disruption to foreign travel is likely to persist and potentially worsen during the summer peak, it may be advisable to look to stay at home in the UK for another year.

Let’s just keep our fingers crossed for the weather!