The industry must prepare for a higher level of complaints this summer with holidaymakers no longer willing to accept “sub-standard” service, Jet2 boss Steve Heapy has warned.
Speaking at Hays Travel Independence Group 2022 conference in Tenerife, he said industry-wide cost cutting had led to staff shortages which could impact the holiday experience and result in higher complaint levels in peak season.
He said: “Lots of places are understaffed and there are queues at airports.
“You’ve probably seen pictures of people queuing at Manchester airport to get through security. Hotels and air traffic control are understaffed and everyone is struggling to get the right number of staff.
“I think we could see a higher than normal level of complaints. It will be a tough summer.”
He said holidaymakers were no longer prepared to tolerate low levels of customer service in the way they did during the pandemic.
“For the last couple of years when things have not been going smoothly they have accepted it but they will not expect things to be back to normal,” said Heapy, adding: “They will not accept sub-standard service and they will not tolerate Covid-related excuses.”
His comments came as he predicted strong sales for Jet2 as a result of strong pent-up demand, adding that the company expected flying capacity in summer 2022 to be up by 12% compared to summer 2019.