Airline personnel issues are predictable to continue into the summer.
Staff shortages behind recent airport disruptions and flight cancellations may not be resolved by the summer, according to air industry representatives.
The Unite union, Swissport’s UK boss, and the Airport Operators Association told the Business Committee that shortages were likely to continue.
EasyJet, British Airways, and Tui have all issued public apologies for recent cancellations.
According to the airlines, it takes a long time for new recruits to get clearance to start working.
Long lines at some airports and hundreds of flight cancellations have occurred in recent weeks, causing misery for those whose vacations have been disrupted and anxiety for those with summer bookings.
The Covid pandemic has primarily contributed to staff shortages.
Thousands of jobs were lost during the pandemic, and recruitment has not kept up with pent-up demand as people book vacations after two summers of Covid restrictions.
Committee chair Darren Jones asked Unite union national officer for civil air transport Oliver Richardson if the situation would be resolved in time for the summer.
“Unless we collaborate,” Mr Richardson said.
Swissport UK’s UK and Ireland managing director, Jude Winstanley, agreed with Mr Richardson.
According to Karen Dee, CEO of the Airport Operators Association, “I hope it will be better, but it will not be completely fixed.”
EasyJet, the low-cost airline, apologized for hundreds of flight cancellations during the recent half-term holiday.
The airline’s chief commercial officer, Sophie Dekkers, told MPs, “We haven’t got it right, and we need to get it right.”
She told the hearing that getting recruits through ID checks was a major challenge. She claimed that obtaining passes would take 14 weeks.
British Airways said it had 3000 people undergoing the referencing process, which could take up to 140 days.
BA and the vacation company Tui both apologised for the recent disruption.
However, BA refused to link the cancellations to its mass layoffs during the Covid pandemic.
Half-term problems
According to travel expert Simon Calder, BA has cancelled the most flights recently, followed by EasyJet.
However, nearly all British Airways flights are being cancelled months in advance, which is unacceptable.
