Leading travel experts have warned that it could be up to a year before staffing at some of the UK's main airports is back to pre-pandemic levels. British Airways and EasyJet have already cancelled hundreds of flights to some of Britain’s most popular foreign holiday destinations over the Easter break and there have been reports of long queues at a number of airports.
British Airways has cancelled flights to Miami, Hong Kong, and Tokyo over the next four months and hundreds of flights to Europe and the US were also cancelled by BA and easyJet over Easter. The pandemic has been blamed for the majority of the issues because large numbers of staff were made redundant and haven't come back.
The summer period is expected to be a busy one for airports and airlines, which could continue to cause issues if the staffing crisis gripping the industry does not get under control. Andy Prendergast, national secretary of the GMB, has said before: "The wages aren't competitive any more. The security checks take an awful lot of time and people are simply found other careers. There's a huge number of vacancies and we've been speaking to some of the airports and some of the baggage-handling companies who are saying quite simply they can't currently get a crew for the amount of flights that they're getting."
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Kully Sandhu, managing director of Aviation Recruitment Network, said it could take up to a year for the situation to improve. He told the Express: “In my opinion it could be up to 12 months before we see staffing at airports back to pre-pandemic levels. Recruitment for people at airports takes longer than roles elsewhere because of necessary additional security and background checks.
“Routine recruitment campaigns ground to halt during the pandemic and have been slow to start again as international travel has had a number of restrictions on it until recently. That means the recruitment pipeline was cut off and needs to be re-established. Aviation has lost its appeal not only for returners but also for people who have never worked in an airport environment before.”
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: “This is a staggering level of flight cancellations caused by a cocktail of not having enough staff in place and Covid-induced staff shortages. Airlines are certainly seeing a high level of demand to fly but are simply unable to cope with that demand due to a lack of resources. It’s a nightmare situation for airlines and airports at the moment.”
Julia Simpson, chief executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council and a former government adviser, said: “When you rebuild there is inevitably going to be some disruption. However the most important thing is that customers are told in advance. As long as you are given plenty of time and alternatives if you are told your flight is cancelled it’s manageable.”
British Airways is cancelling half of all flights between Heathrow and Miami, reducing them to one each way a day from June 4 until September 7. Flights to Hong Kong and Tokyo have also been slashed due to Covid restrictions.
EasyJet cancelled hundreds of flights over Easter due to a lack of staff and a surge in demand as Britons were desperate to enjoy the Easter weekend abroad for the first time in two years. An EasyJet spokesman said: “We are planning to operate our normal summer schedule, which is on average around 1,700 flights a day, this summer.”
