Anyone panning a foreign holiday over the Easter break is being warned to expect delays at the airport. The Airport Operators Association (AOA) has warned staff shortages due to recruitment problems and Covid absences could mean longer queues.
The AOA represents most airports in the UK. Chief Executive Karen Dee said: “Airports have been preparing for this for some time, but at peak times passengers may not have the experience they are used to.
"Airports are working hard to recruit more staff in a very competitive labour market and are working with the UK government to resolve any delays in the necessary checks before staff can start work. For many passengers this will be the first time they have travelled abroad since the beginning of the pandemic and the processes required may seem unfamiliar. The advice airports (and airlines) are issuing should help ensure passengers are as prepared as they can be.
“If airports and passengers work together in this way, we can get everyone on their way as smoothly and quickly as possible.”
Passengers are being asked to arrive early and to expect delays when checking in.
Manchester Airport has blamed staff shortages for recent long queues and Heathrow said peak demand will be almost back to pre-Covid levels this summer - whoile airlines, handlers and airports do not currently have the capacity to cope.
Edinburgh Airport has warned travellers to expect queues and disruption. Chief executive Gordon Dewar said the main reason for delays in the summer will be due to staff numbers not reaching pre-pandemic levels in time.
The airport has predicted numbers will more than treble in one year and that surge in growth and the tough recruitment markets has prompted the early warning. “We lost many valued colleagues and our recruitment campaign to employ 1,000 people across the airport has been underway since the end of 2021,” he said.
“Not all of those additional people will be in place as quickly as we would like and therefore it is inevitable there will be some queues and disruption as the recovery begins and we take the first steps to normality.
“As we do that, we are grateful to passengers for their patience and understanding and ask that they allow themselves to carefully plan and understand what they need to do before they get here.
“We all want to put on as good a service as we can and will be working hard to do that, drafting in people from across the airport to support passengers and ensuring people have everything they need to get through the airport quickly and comfortably.”
He said other contributing issues to delays might be differing Covid entry requirements, security preparation and some passengers returning to travel for the first time since the pandemic.
Adam Wilson, operations director at Edinburgh Airport, said: “We’ve drawn up a range of plans to deal with potential scenarios but unfortunately this may not avoid queuing at peak times.
“We clearly hope this won’t be the case, but we think it’s better to be honest and ask passengers to work with us to make the process as smooth as possible.
“We’ll be using our social media channels, our website, our emails to inform and best prepare people for their return to travel. We hope people understand the challenges we are likely to face, and we are thankful for their patience.”
In Ireland, Dublin Airport said staff were trying to “ramp up” the service provided to travellers but returning to full capacity after Covid-19 would take time.
“As the recruitment, training and background security checks for all staff working at an international airport take several weeks, not days, we apologise in advance but queues for security will be experienced at peak hours,” the spokesperson said.
“To minimise the impact, we encourage all passengers to check in bags where they can and to carry the minimum amount with them when presenting at security.
“We would also encourage all passengers to be at the airport a minimum of two hours before boarding a short haul flight and three hours prior to boarding a long-haul flight.”
- Check-in is taking longer, get to the airport in good time : check with your airline and allow for longer check-in times as airlines may need check if you have all the necessary covid-related documents to travel to your destination. Make sure you have your ticket, passport and covid-related travel documents ready to show staff when you reach the check-in desk so you can be on your way quickly.
- Get ready for airport security : it’s been a while, so remember:
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- Carefully pack bags at home and carry only essential items in hand luggage (check Government advice on what’s allowed here ): this helps reduce the need for manual checks, which can cause queues to build up.
- Have your boarding pass ready for inspection (passport are not required at security).
- If you’re carrying any liquid items (in max. 100ml containers) in a clear resealable plastic bag, take them out of your hand baggage while queueing, ready to put them in the security tray.
- Take off your coat, watch and belt and remove any other metal items when you reach the front of the queue so you’re ready to put them in the trays.
- Electrical items such as laptops, mobile phones and tablets will need to go through X-ray machines separately, so get them ready by taking them out of your hand luggage when you approach the front of the queue.
- Place your hand baggage and coat/jacket into a tray, use more than one tray if you are carrying more than can easily fit in one tray.
- You may be asked to remove your shoes and/or other items of clothing or jewellery before going through the security archway.
- Returning to the UK : you will need to go through the UK border, where UK Border Force is facing similar issues as airport operators are. To avoid delays:
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- Check here if you can use an ePassport gate: passengers aged 12 with UK, EU and some other nationalities can use an eGate with a biometric passport.
- Remove your passport from its cover and have it open at the photo page
- Take off any hats, headphones and sunglasses and put mobile phones or tablets away when you reach the eGate or a Border Force officer
- Stay together when travelling as a family and if you are not the child’s parent or may appear not to be the parent (e.g. if you have a different family name), it may be helpful to carry copies of key documents, such as birth or marriage certificate (more information here )
