You had one job! Ryanair joins airlines blaming UK airports for travel chaos

Ryanair's CFO claimed their planes were summer ready, but UK airports weren't. Photo / Portuguese Gravity, Unsplash

Airlines have been expressing their fury at UK airports for a lack of preparedness and a summer of travel chaos.

Ryanair's chief financial officer Neil Sorahan let rip at the travel hubs in a recent interview, saying they "had one job".

In the eyes of Sorahan and other airlines the key task for travel hubs was restaffing ahead of peak travel season, in his view they failed. "They had the schedules months in advance," he said.

The airline said it was geared up and ready for travel but were let down on the ground by the lack of airport capacity.

"We managed to staff up for 73 additional aircrafts well in advance and it's incumbent on the airports to get their planning better next year."

Talking on BBC radio's Today show, he expressed that the cancellations and disruptions could have been avoided and that it was the airports who should be held accountable for "not staffing up appropriately."

Ryanair was not the only well known carrier to take aim at Heathrow and the UK's busiest runways this summer.

This month long-haul carrier Emirates blasted London Heathrow's request to cut flights due to airport staffing shortages.

The UAE airline called it a "blatant disregard for consumers" and said its aircraft were ready to fly even if the airports were not ready to receive them.

On 12 July the London Airport had proposed capping passenger movements at 100,000 a day, asking airlines to redirect to other airports. It was something Emirates said was "not realistic" given the 36 hour warning.

"Ground readiness to handle and turnaround a widebody long-haul aircraft with 500 passengers onboard is not as simple as finding a parking spot at a mall."

A spokesperson for the UK Airport Operations Association said that navigating the disruption required cooperation from both airports and airlines.

"The vast majority of passengers across the UK are now getting away on their holidays with no or minimal disruption," they told the BBC.

In the AOA's view it was not productive to blame one part of the airport-airline partnership, and was "essential" that the industry continue to work together.

It is not only UK airports caught off guard by the need to ramp up ahead of a busy summer.

This month British Airways cancelled 1500 flights in July to help ease travel congestion.

The airline took the opportunity to cancel 10 per cent of flights after the UK Department of Transport to cancel slots at UK airports without penalty. This was done to give airlines the opportunity to assess their ability to deliver on schedules and passengers advanced warning to replan travel.

"As the entire aviation industry continues to face into the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions," said a spokesperson for the airline.