The Scottish Passenger Agents Association has issued a plea to government to introduce more flexible furlough arrangements as members battle to deal with large workloads on minimal staff numbers.
The SPAA has also called for an extension to the furlough scheme beyond the end of June when it is currently due to end.
In a survey by the SPAA, 85% of agent members wanted to use their furloughed staff for limited work during the furlough period. In total, 70% of the agents polled have furloughed some or all of their staff to protect at least 80% of their income during the UK lockdown.
SPAA president Joanne Dooey said agents were facing an unparalleled crisis in terms of their workloads, with a large amount of time needed to be spent on processing refunds and rebooking clients while having virtually no new booking revenue coming into their businesses.
She said: “Travel agents are the first link in the chain for a client booking a holiday, but the last link in the chain when it comes to airline and travel company refunds.
“This means that client monies are held up in a refund pipeline and some companies in this pipeline are either refusing to refund or offering only credit notes.
“Travel agents are faced with having a significant amount of work to do from which they derive absolutely no income, whilst still being responsible for all other outgoings.”
Dooey argued the travel industry needed a bespoke solution because the way it operates is unlike other retail businesses.
She said: “The travel industry needs urgent tailored support as our business model differs considerably from that of a retail operation. Travel agents receive their revenue for a holiday just prior to the client’s departure and not at the time of sale.
“We’re urging the government to allow some form of flexible return to work for furloughed employees, for example staff being permitted to work for 20% of their contracted hours to help. Those currently still working in agencies, many of whom are business owners, are struggling to manage their clients’ expectations.”
In addition, Dooey said the furlough scheme needed to be extended beyond June.
She added: “Travel agents pride themselves on customer service and our members are certainly not going to let their customers down now, but they need a degree of limited access to the furloughed workforce to help their customers at this highly stressful time for all.
“Many airlines and travel companies have themselves furloughed their own staff as they are making no sales, and this is obviously adding to timescales as there is no one there to take calls. We’ve had several reports of agents being abused and threatened for not giving refunds.”