The top boss of Manchester airport’s parent company has apologised for the long delays and disruption facing passengers and vowed to end the chaos. Charles Cornish, chief executive at Manchester Airports Group, outlined reasons for staff shortages that have led to security and check-in waits, baggage delays and missed flights.
Managing director Karen Smart quit her post earlier this week while politicians have called for security clearance for new staff to be prioritised. In a letter to staff, Mr Cornish said he was aware of passengers’ frustrations and pledged to do all he could to end the crisis.
He wrote: "I want to say that I understand passengers’ frustrations with the queues and congestion they’ve experienced in recent weeks, and I apologise to anyone who has been affected by the disruption. The UK aviation sector is now recovering quickly but for most of the last two years we have effectively been in survival mode.
"When the pandemic struck, we were faced with almost no income and huge fixed costs. Doing nothing was not an option. We had to cut costs just to survive – it was as simple as that.
"We reduced expenditure wherever we could, and as a last resort we had to offer colleagues the option of voluntary redundancy because of the uncertainty about when international travel would resume. Since February, we have seen a stunning recovery in international travel. Demand has returned dramatically to more than 70 per cent of pre-Covid levels in a matter of weeks, after travel rules were eventually relaxed last month."
Mr Cornish added the sudden demand had caused major staffing issues and warned that there was no quick fix. He said: "But I want to be clear about the challenges associated with getting our operations back to what they were before Covid-19 in such a short space of time – and I also want to be clear about what people can expect in the next month or two as we tackle these challenges.
"The simple fact is that we don’t currently have the number of staff we need to provide the level of service that our passengers deserve. Despite our efforts since last Autumn, the tight labour market around the airport has meant we have just not been able to hire people quickly enough to establish a full-strength team.
"Practically, staff shortages mean that we cannot open all the security lanes we need and at times, this results in longer queues than we want to see. While we still expect most passengers to get through in less than 30-40 minutes, there will be times over the next few months when waiting times will rise to between 60 and 90 minutes."
Mr Cornish advised passengers to arrive at the airport three hours before their flight departure leaves. adding: “If passengers follow that advice, and allow more time than normal, we are confident they will get away on their travels. These measures are temporary and we are focused on getting back to normal in time for the peak summer season.
"The alternative in the short-term would be to cap capacity and for airlines to cancel flights, as other airports and airlines are doing. But this would cause enormous disruption to holidays, business trips and long-awaited visits to see friends and family. We do not think cancellations are what our customers want to see.
“As new staff join us, the operational pressure we are facing will ease and queue times will begin to come down.”
More than 4,000 people have been interviewed during the last two months and some 250 new security staff are scheduled to start by early May. I cannot apologise enough for the disruption people have faced."
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