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Manchester Airport chaos ‘worse than ever’ as passengers miss flights amid lengthy queues
Queues were seen extending out into the car park as passengers arrived to catch their morning flights
Passengers arriving at Manchester Airport this morning have once again experienced lengthy security queues, resulting in many missing their flights.
Last week, airport bosses advised passengers to arrive three hours before their flight to ensure queues wouldn’t form – however, this morning passengers have reported being forced to spend ‘hours’ in queues that extended all the way out into the car park.
Frustrated travellers took to social media to share images and videos of the scenes, which have been described as ‘shambolic’, ‘manic’ and ‘absolute chaos’.
Passenger Ryan Hoey arrived at the airport at 5am this morning to catch his 7am flight back to Belfast, but was met with lengthy security queues that stretched all the way outside of the Terminal building.
Ryan told Proper Manchester that while the staff were ‘very helpful’, Manchester Airport ‘needs to get its act together’ and ‘sort out its staffing crisis’.
Detailing the chaotic scenes, Ryan explained: “The staff were very helpful, letting me and other passengers skip the queue when our flight gates were called so we didn’t miss it, and you can’t help but feel sorry for them as they deal with angry customers.
Read More: Andy Burnham warns queues and disruption at Manchester Airport will continue for ‘two months’
“Manchester Airport really needs to get its act together and sort out the staffing crisis.
“If they can’t attract staff, they should try improving the terms and conditions – not blaming passengers for the high demand.”
Other passengers also took to social media to express their frustrations this morning, with one person questioning: “Gateway to the world @manairport what a total shambles. How long is it going to take to sort this out?”
Ben Leather wrote on Twitter: “As a regular flyer I’ve never seen it this bad. Feel sorry for the overworked staff @manairport who clearly just don’t have the numbers to cope with the passenger load at the moment. Give yourself plenty of time to get through security if you’re flying anytime soon.”
A different passenger, known only as Chantel, explained that while her flight from the Dominican Republic had landed in Manchester at 6:30am, she was still waiting for her luggage at baggage reclaim nearly two hours later at 8am.
She wrote alongside a photo of the crowded area: “When you land at 06.38 get stranded on the tarmac and still waiting for your luggage off the plane. @manairport need more staff.”
Last month, the airport’s managing director Karen Smart stepped down as a result of the lengthy queues and delays.
Smart – who had been with the business for eight years but took on the senior role during the pandemic – formally stepped down on the same day political leaders and unions met with airport bosses to discuss the ‘concerning’ situation.
Smart had previously addressed the airport’s issues, saying in a statement: “We want to apologise to all our customers who have experienced disruption over the last couple of weeks.
“We want to be clear with our customers that getting back to full strength is going to take time and there will unfortunately be periods over the next few weeks when it will take longer to get through the airport than it should.”
Manchester Airport is currently on a ‘major’ recruitment drive to solve the ongoing queues and delays. You can see their current job vacancies here.
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BBC presenter randomly gives middle finger live on air with viewers shocked
One person asked if the were watching the ‘Do One Show’
Viewers couldn’t believe their eyes as they tuned in to watch the news, as the presenter was caught giving the middle finger live on air.
The blooper of all bloopers happened on the world feed BBC News at the noon bulletin, at 12pm on December 6th.
As many were expecting a serious new bulletin, the camera cut to Chief Presenter Maryam Moshiri as she flipped her middle finger, then quickly transitioned her facial expression to present the headlines.
In the clip, which has now gone viral, Maryam, 46, can be seen tilting her head with raised eyebrows and giving the middle finger to camera as the famous countdown to the bulletin ends.
Upon realising she was live on air, the broadcaster quickly snatches her hand away and adopts a more serious role as she goes straight into reading the headlines about Boris Johnson.
“Live from London, this is BBC News,” she says as she swiftly switches into news presenter mode.
Many viewers saw the funny side and took to social media to share the hilarious surprise, as one person wrote: “It’s the new BBC magazine programme @ 7pm: ‘The Do One Show’.”
Another put: “New reaction meme UNLOCKED!.” And a third said: “Oopsie! One for the VT Christmas tape!”
Today, December 7th, Maryam issued an apology for the ‘private joke’ which was caught on air. In a tweet she said: “Hey everyone , yesterday just before the top of the hour I was joking around a bit with the team in the gallery.
“I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0.. including the fingers to show the number. So from 10 fingers held up to one.
“When we got to 1 I turned finger around as a joke and did not realise that this would be caught on camera. It was a private joke with the team and I’m so sorry it went out on air! It was not my intention for this to happen and I’m sorry if I offended or upset anyone.
“I wasn’t ‘ flipping the bird’ at viewers or even a person really. It was a silly joke that was meant for a small number of my mates.”
Her apology for the faux pas was met with mixed reactions with some suggesting the show lacked professionalism, though many showed her support and were very forgiving.
One person wrote in the comments: “You giving the ‘bird’ is what sums up BBC and its feelings to Brits and us who pay the license fee. You should resign or be sacked for this total disrespect.”
Meanwhile another, seeing the funny side, simply wrote: “Legend.” A third put: “As a BBC licence payer I demand more of this type of behaviour.”
And a fourth typed: “It was absolutely brilliant and very funny. Clearly an inside joke and a welcome bit of relief considering all that’s going on right now.”
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Aldi named cheapest supermarket as it takes back crown from Lidl
Aldi takes back the top spot
Budget supermarket Aldi has reclaimed the title of cheapest supermarket for November, overtaking Lidl.
With the festive season here, Brits are continuing to look for ways to keep household costs down – and Aldi shoppers can be confident they’re getting the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices.
According to the latest Which? report, Aldi is once again the UK’s cheapest supermarket – with an average basket total coming to £76.77.
Each month, the consumer group compares the price of 131 groceries and household essentials across UK supermarkets to see which are the most and least expensive to shop at.
The latest research from Which? shows that throughout November Aldi was a huge £20.62 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, Waitrose – for an equivalent basket of items.
Which? also revealed Aldi to be £12.77 cheaper than Morrisons and £11.02 cheaper than Sainsbury’s per basket.
Aldi also beat bargain rival Lidl to top spot, relegating the German supermarket to second place – where an average shop came in at just slightly more than Aldi, at £77.56.
Asda came in third place averaging at £84.42 per basket, Tesco fourth with an average £87.42 a basket and Sainsbury’s took fifth place at £87.79.
The most expensive supermarket was Waitrose where the average basket of shopping costs £97.39 – £20 more than shopping at Aldi.
But the popular supermarket can celebrate not one but two wins as it was also named the cheapest place to buy a Christmas dinner.
Comparing the cost of Chrimbo dinner staples including turkey, pigs in blankets, and Christmas pudding Aldi was found to be 4p cheaper than Lidl and £18 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi, said: “Christmas can be an expensive time for everyone, with gifts to buy and families to feed.
“We’re thrilled that at such a crucial time Which? has officially named Aldi as the cheapest supermarket demonstrating our commitment to providing our customers with high quality food at everyday low prices.”
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Mum says she’s charging family £150 for Christmas dinner and glass of Champagne
‘If you want quality, you’ll have to pay for it’
Mum Carla Bellucci claims she will charge her relatives for Christmas dinner this year, including a single glass of Champagne.
Carla, 42, is a former model and has appeared on an episode of Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over: Britain’s Most Hated Woman?.
She’s probably best known for her appearance on This Morning where she revealed that she hadn’t told the full truth about getting a nose job, funded by the public.
Earlier this year, Carla made headlines for revealing how she’d organised an extravagant Easter Egg hunt for her children.
The extravagant event included a £1,000 prize and a three-night stay at Disneyland Paris, for her youngest son, Blue.
After a frivolous Easter, Carla has now claimed that her family will have to cough up if they are coming to her house for their Christmas dinner this year.
Speaking to the MailOnline, the mum said she will be charging her guests £150 each for the home-cooked feast, including one single glass of Champagne – let’s just hope she fills it up to the brim.
She told the publication: “It’s not cheap feeding people and it also takes a lot of time to put together a nice meal.
“I’ll give them a glass of Champagne, but if they want any more booze, they’ll have to bring their own.”
Carla is expecting to cook the festive feast for around nine people this year, including her immediate family of six.
However, the mum said that some of her guests will be disgusted by having to fork out the £150, but she said: “If you want quality, you’ll have to pay for it.
“You might find a carvery that’s cheaper than my place, but my dinner is going to be a lot more classy than that.
“It wouldn’t be any cheaper if you went to a restaurant or a hotel for a Christmas Day meal, so why should I be out of pocket?”
The former OnlyFans model said she will open her doors to welcome guests at 2pm and after having fun and playing games including charades, she will allegedly be sending her guests home come 10pm.
The £150 fee she will be charging her guests does also include a profit margin which Carla justifies saying: “Everything I do is for profit and the family understands that.”
The social media personality admitted just last month in an interview that she is aware her ‘strong opinions’ can rub people up the wrong way.
“I know it rubs people up the wrong way sometimes but it’s just who I am,” she said to the MailOnline.
She also confessed that she’d like to use her ‘platform’ to bag a spot back on reality TV and ‘ruffle some more feathers’.
“If I can get on a reality show then that would be brilliant because I know I make good TV.
“Celebrity Big Brother would be perfect if that’s coming back alongside the main show. I could ruffle even more feathers,” she said.
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