A holidaygoer has described early morning chaos and queues at Leeds Bradford Airport as “horrendous”.

Solo traveller Julia Sharp arrived at 2.45am on Thursday for her flight to Fuerteventura, one of Spain’s Canary Islands.

But queues for luggage check in and security had already begun, stretching along the side of the airport outside.

Sharing her travel experience, Julia told The Northern Echo's sister website, the Telegraph & Argus: “I arrived at the airport at quarter to three in the morning as advised. It was horrendous, really, really horrendous.

“They did make sure we all got on our flight so they did pull people through. We did leave on time but I’ve never known anything like it in my life.

The Northern Echo: Picture: Julia Sharp.Picture: Julia Sharp.

“With me travelling on my own it was really quite difficult because you were stood for two hours. I couldn’t leave the queue, I couldn’t go get a drink.

“I hadn’t checked in online because my holiday was a last minute booking. It was just hard work, really hard work, and I’ve never seen security like it.

“I mean you queued outside to get your case checked in and then you had to go outside again to queue for security. It was absolutely crazy.

“To be fair Jet2 did handle things very well but people need to be prepared taking drinks with them and things like that.

“I’m on holiday now in Fuerteventura and it will definitely make up for the not so good airport experience.”

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Security queues at Leeds Bradford Airport 

The aviation sector across Europe is experiencing “operational issues” including air traffic control delays, and increased times for identity checks of new recruits.

A Leeds Bradford spokesperson previously said the airport is working hard to overcome the issues with “ongoing recruitment and training activities and more staff being released to the operation from training each week”.

Speaking in May, the spokesperson added: “We have additional opportunities across the operation and encourage anyone looking for work to apply via our website.

“Some airlines are actively managing queues to pull people to the front as their flights near departure. Each airline has its own policy and process in this regard.

“Unfortunately, these current challenges are an industry wide problem, caused by the speed of withdrawal of travel restrictions and testing which has led to the rapid recovery of international travel.

“We would like to apologise to passengers impacted by queues at LBA.

“We’re working hard to overcome these challenges through recruitment and training initiatives, while managing queues safely.”