Travel is back: is the UK aviation industry ready for the big take-off?

As the Easter holidays got under way, passengers faced long queues at a number of airports, including Heathrow and Manchester, The Guardian reported. There were “long waits” for check-in at Heathrow, because of Covid checks, high passenger volumes and reported staff shortages.

A spokesperson for Manchester airport apologised to passengers. “As we recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our whole industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges,” the spokesperson said. “As a result we are advising customers that security queues may be longer than usual, and we encourage them to arrive at the earliest time recommended by their airline.”

Problems are ‘not terminal’ 

Airports have blamed a “cross-industry staffing crisis” for the problems, which have been caused by a “lethal combination” of staff illness and post-pandemic recruitment woes, Blake said. “But the issues, they promise, are not terminal.”

The Daily Express said that “Brexit Britain” is once again “heading for the skies” as airlines and airports offer hundreds of new jobs. Luton Airport has advertised more than 400 new jobs across the board, with multiple roles offered in security, firefighting, hospitality and retail staff.

At Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, 12,000 staff will be hired to handle an “expected summer holiday boom”, said The Guardian. John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow, said: “We need to ensure we are geared up to meet peak potential demand this summer.”

Aviation expert John Strickland, of JLS Consulting, said the staff shortages coming out of the pandemic is something which is “going to be more widespread” with airlines because of the number of people who were let go.

A British Airways IT glitch last week saw dozens of flights delayed or cancelled at Heathrow and the disruption caused by the repeated IT meltdowns is being exacerbated by staff shortages, The Independent reported. Strickland told the PA news agency that “once the dominoes start to fall, if your manpower is not up to proper planned establishment then you’re really floundering even more”.

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/business/employment/956317/travel-uk-aviation-industry-ready-take-off