Pilot cheered by passengers after loading luggage onto plane delayed by 32hrs

A PILOT loaded cases on a plane delayed by 32 hours as travel chaos continued to hit half-term holidaymakers.

Passengers filmed him leaping into action after the flight from Manchester to Crete got a 40-minute window to take off.

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Jenny Cook said the pilot, named only as Simon, saved dozens of TUI holidays.

Mrs Cook, of Warrington, Cheshire, said the captain told passengers they were doing everything they could to get the flight into the air.

She revealed: “He said, ‘Even my co-pilot is loading bags’.

“We looked out of the window and there he was. The next thing we knew we were taxiing to the runway. We were all cheering. Simon had gone above and beyond.”

Mrs Cook, travelling with her husband and daughters, added: “As an HR director, employee recognition is key.

“We were all taken aback by what Simon had done. TUI need to recognise him.”

Katherine Cox, also of Warrington, said: “The crew and pilot were amazing. Simon was the hero of our holiday.”

Under-fire TUI hailed the “incredible dedication” of its staff, adding: “We can’t thank him enough for his swift and decisive actions.”

Yesterday the firm was blasted by honeymooner Katherine Grigg, 22, of Camborne, Cornwall, who said a 46-hour delay had stranded her in Bulgaria without medication she needs for a brain tumour.

TUI was arranging her a flight back last night. It also apologised, after it announcing plans to cancel six flights a day until the end of June.

Another 161 departures from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester were axed yesterday.

In the last week 538 flights leaving the UK have been cancelled, says data firm Cirium.

A further two million passengers are due to fly on 10,800 flights over the Jubilee Bank Holiday but they face more late cancellations.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps met industry bosses — and said he’d warned them to start recruiting months ago ready for a post-Covid surge.

He fumed: “Despite government warnings, operators seriously oversold flights and holidays relative to their capacity to deliver.”

One easyJet passenger tweeted a pic shortly after 4am from Manchester Airport showing a long queue at a Terminal 1 car park.

He wrote: “Took two hours 45 minutes to get through. Most of that was bag drop. Now on the aircraft, but due to shortage of ground crew, there’s going to be another delay of 50 minutes.”

Julian Knight, Tory chairman of the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee, said travel bosses risked harming their industry’s reputation for years.

Summer bookings are already under threat, with union bosses threatening serious disruption at Stansted unless Ryanair raises wages for baggage handlers.

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Couple’s wedding wrecked

A COUPLE’S £20,000 dream wedding in Cyprus has been left in tatters by the travel chaos.

Melissa Robertson, 39, and Mike Waite, 32, travelling with TUI, faced huge queues at Manchester airport and were double booked.

When they finally landed at Larnaca their luggage, containing wedding outfits, was missing.

Then they heard that 50 family and friends, including bridesmaids, due to fly out yesterday were stranded by cancelled flights.

Beauty therapist Melissa, of Leeds, West Yorks, sobbed: “It is a disaster. I have been crying my eyes out. I just want to go home.”