Iata has called for holistic reforms to solve the staffing crisis of airport ground handlers longer term as flight cancellations and delays continue to cause disruption at UK airports.
The severe shortage of ground handlers follows the departure of thousands of ground handling staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the last few weeks airlines including Tui and easyJet have cancelled flights due to have operated during this week’s school half-term school holiday and over the weekend of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and into June.
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The problem has highlighted the need for reform to create a stable talent pool for the future, according to Iata, with bottlenecks at airport security the most pressing current issue as the industry prepares for the peak summer season.
In the longer term, Iata, which represents 290 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic, is calling on the ground handling sector to adopt a stronger talent acquisition strategy, streamline its processes for taking on new employees, and develop a more compelling retention proposition.
Nick Careen, Iata’s senior vice president for operations, safety and security, said: “The peak northern summer travel season is fast-approaching, and passengers are already experiencing the effects of bottlenecks in getting security clearances for staff at the airport.
“Additional resources are needed to accelerate the processing times for employment security clearances which can be as much as six months in some markets.
“The shortages we are experiencing today are a symptom of the longer-term challenges to achieve a stable talent base in ground handling.”
Iata put forward a proposal on recruitment, onboarding processes and staff retention at its 2022 Iata Ground Handling Conference, which is currently being held in Paris.
To improve the recruitment of ground handling staff it has recommended an awareness campaign to highlight the attractiveness and importance of ground operations in global logistics and transport operations; the adoption of the ‘25by25’ campaign to help address the gender imbalance across the sector; apprenticeships in partnership with schools and colleges to revitalise the candidate pipeline; and career path mapping to demonstrate the long-term job prospects for those starting out in the industry.
Currently, training and security clearance to take on new staff can take more than six months.
To ensure more efficient processes for onboarding staff, Iata has suggested a greater focus on competency-based training, with more online training and assessments to improve the speed, flexibility and efficiency of taking on new staff.
Ensuring security training and staff background records are mutually recognised by the authorities would also speed up employment and get rid of old processes, it said.
Iata’s white paper has also recommended greater standardisation to improve staff performance, provide employment flexibility and broader career options, to help retain staff.
It has advised the implementation of the Iata Ground Operations Manual (IGOM) to standardise ground operations; the introduction of training passports to mutually recognise skills and courses across ground handling firms, airlines and and airports; the adoption of new technology and automated processes to create job opportunities and career paths to attract a new generation of talent.
Careen said: “An industry-wide approach to lay the foundations for more efficient talent recruitment, onboarding and retention will pay big benefits in terms of efficiency for all concerned.
“The cornerstone is the standardization that can be achieved with the adoption of the IGOM. Its global implementation will have a huge and positive impact in all aspects of ground handling, including talent management.
“The potential is to shift working in the sector from having a job to developing a career.”