Manchester Airport’s managing director has resigned from her role amid weeks of chaos for travellers.

Karen Smart will return to the south of England where her family is based to “pursue fresh career opportunities”, according to her bosses.

It comes as the airport’s management met with political leaders and unions on Tuesday to discuss the current “concerning” situation as well as pay and conditions.

Manchester and London Heathrow airports have seen widespread delays after easyJet cancelled 62 flights and British Airways cut 115 of its journeys for Monday.

Piles of suitcases were stranded in terminals after travellers abandoned the wait to reclaim their baggage to go home.

Pictures from Manchester on social media showed long snaking queues throughout one of the departure halls from around 5am on Monday morning, with travellers complaining about the delays on social media.

Along with much of the aviation industry, the airport has struggled to recruit staff made redundant after travel was shut down during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Other airports including Heathrow and Birmingham have been impacted by similar issues as the Easter holiday increases travel demand.

Manchester Airport bosses issued an apology to passengers over the weekend, admitting they had “fallen short of the standards they expected”.

Ms Smart took on the managing director role at the start of the pandemic and has been employed by MAG for eight years, including a stint in charge at East Midlands Airport.

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MAG chief executive Charlie Cornish said: “Over the last two years, Karen has guided Manchester Airport through the most challenging period of its 84-year history, having made a major contribution to MAG throughout her time with the business.

“I am sorry to lose Karen after her years of valuable service, but also understand her desire to return to the South for family reasons and indeed to explore new career opportunities.

“While there are sure to be further challenges ahead, I am confident we will soon start to see the benefits of the recovery plans Karen has helped put in place.”

MAG announced that Ian Costigan will move from his post as group transformation director to become interim managing director.

Earlier, John O’Neill, North West regional industrial officer for Unite, said union officials were meeting Manchester’s airport management to discuss pay and other issues on Tuesday.

He said many workers who were made redundant during the pandemic had found alternative jobs with similar wages and might not be willing to return to work unsocial hours at the airport.

MAG is currently offering jobs for drivers with a starting salary of £13,000 a year and security “ambassador” jobs targeted at students paying £10.53 per hour – including night shifts, 3am starts, weekends and bank holidays.

The top-earning director at Manchester Airport was paid £2.5m in 2021, a £500,000 increase on the previous year, according to last year’s annual report.

It also showed the pay for directors as a whole increased from £5.9m to £7.3m in 2021.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Bargain-basement wages and insecure jobs must be consigned to the past if the sector wants to get back on track.

“It is pretty simple – if you want to thrive, treat your workers with respect and don’t attack their jobs, pay and conditions.”

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