A top boss at the UK's largest airport has stated that staffing numbers are at the same level as pre-pandemic levels despite accusations it is struggling to cope. But Heathrow Airport chief of staff Nigel Milton said fares would have to rise and wages hiked to attract more staff.
Mr Milton warned the disruption to flights could run through to next summer, saying: “We could face a lot of problems in the next 12 months.” He said Heathrow had been prepared for the return of passengers after the Covid travel lockdown even though there have been reports of long security queues, flight cancellations and baggage issues.
The Heathrow chief said: "First things first, Heathrow is a well-run airport and we have prepared for the summer peak. We started recruiting back in November last year before Omicron hit the UK. We now have as much security capacity as we had in 2019.
"Our two biggest carriers, BA and Virgin, are world-class airlines and we are working with them and are all focussed on delivering a great service for passengers. But over recent months, anyone who has travelled anywhere will have seen that aviation is struggling to cope with the wave of pent-up summer demand we’re now seeing after two years of Covid cancellations."
He stressed that Heathrow wanted to constantly raise the levels of passenger services and that included tackling an underlying issue. Mr Milton added: "The biggest problem is a shortage of airline ground handling staff. These are the highly skilled people who manage most jobs at the airport - check-in, loading and unloading bags, bringing planes onto and off stand – but they don’t work for the airport itself, they are typically independent businesses contracted to airlines.
"Ground handling is a highly competitive, labour intensive, low margin business, characterised by short term contracts. Airlines have driven down costs over the years, and this was one of the first costs they slashed during the pandemic."
Across Europe, more than 50 per cent of ground handlers had left the industry, with many of those with driving skills, such as workers who take bags to and from planes, snapped up as delivery drivers, Mr Milton claimed.
"For months ground handling companies have been trying to recruit and train skilled workers, but if their airline customers aren’t willing to pay market rates, then they aren’t able to fill the posts. Airlines have not secured any net increase in their ground handling resource at Heathrow since January – and this has become the constraint as demand has grown," he claimed.
Mr Milton continued: "Airlines need to plot a new flight plan. While there is a lot of pressure to cut costs, you can’t stop investing in the basics. That’s the approach we need airlines to now adopt – starting with stepping up investment in their ground handlers.
"If they do that if they do that, we can then all start focussing on rebuilding Britain’s world-beating aviation sector and getting back to giving our passengers the service they deserve."
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