Staff shortages just part of a complex mix of problems, reports Ian Taylor
Flight cancellations and delays kept travel in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons over the Queen’s Jubilee but have done since almost as soon as the recovery took off.
The government stoked the furore by slamming the industry for cutting too many jobs. Industry leaders hit back, pointing out the sector was seeking to recover from a two-year shutdown, received limited assistance compared to elsewhere in Europe and had minimal forewarning of restrictions lifting.
Unfortunately, the delays and cancellations are the result of a complex mix of issues which can’t easily be resolved.
First, there are the staff shortages caused by layoffs during the pandemic. Ground handlers are struggling to staff check-in and baggage handling. Airports have struggled to staff security. Some airlines have struggled to crew flights.
British Airways cut 10,000 jobs, easyJet 5,000. Ground handler Swissport cut 20,000, a third of its employees in the UK. Other ground handlers did similar.
Many who left the industry found work with higher pay and less unsocial hours. This part of the problem has pre-pandemic roots. Ground handler John Menzies suffered staff turnover of almost 60% before Covid. The difference now is the labour market is so tight.
A source noted: “Ground handlers can’t raise wages because they’re under such cost pressure from the airlines.”
The problems are compounded by higher-than-normal rates of sickness. A senior aviation source reported: “Airport and airline sickness rates are running two to three times normal.”
Then there is air traffic control – a patchwork of air navigation service providers. Parts of the system are causing delays across Europe – in particular, French air traffic control which is undergoing a system upgrade.
Airspace closures due to the war in Ukraine are adding to the congestion, on top of problems such as Sunday’s bad weather.
Cancellations are the only way to restore some order. Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary noted of rivals: “By cancelling flights they’re putting less pressure on airports. It’s the sensible thing to do.”
The reality is the industry probably did ramp up too quickly, with unexpectedly high demand fuelling belief in a rapid recovery.
Will cancellations and delays continue? Unfortunately, yes, not least because that is the view of the airports, ground handlers and aviation unions. In May, a survey of Europe’s airports found two-thirds expected increased delays, one in six expected increased cancellations and a third forecast delays and cancellations beyond the summer.
Airports body ACI Europe joined the ground handlers’ Airport Services Association to warn of “the impossibility of scaling up staffing to levels required” amid “a downward spiral of low wages and compromised service quality”.
Whatever measures are taken to alleviate the pressure here, problems around Europe will remain. At the same time, the Unite and GMB unions are balloting ground handling staff at Heathrow for strikes, Heathrow is seeking a reduction in operations by airlines at peak times, and the government has ruled out relaxing post-Brexit rules to allow recruitment around the EU.
The aviation source warned: “There is no single fix, nothing that can be pulled out of a hat.”