Due to the delay at Dublin Airport, about 1,400 people missed the plane on May 29, and while the airport experience is far from 2019, almost all passengers are at least fleeing.
Or in the UK, spring and summer vacations are often uncertain and have a “crossed finger” outlook. There is always the risk of last-minute cancellations.
Some airlines are shortening their daily schedules for the summer of 2022. Some airlines remove departures decades ago, while others remove airlines hours before passengers board or once boarded.
This includes easyJet, which cancels dozens of flights a day, and British Airways, which cancels about 20,000 flights on a summer schedule.
Not as big as you can see the individual numbers- Financial Times Recently, it was reported that 2-4% of UK flights were canceled in the first week of May.
However, when the cancellation lasted until June, Transport Minister Grant Shapps accused the airline and tour operators of being “seriously.” [overselling] “Flights and Holidays” exceeds the capacity that can be processed.
So why is this happening? And what are airline executives planning for that?
Which airline is canceling the flight?
EasyJet and British Airways are the two main causes for regular daily cancellations, but Wizz Air, Tui and KLM also reject multiple departures.
EasyJet cancels about 30-60 flights per day, some of which have been pre-discarded, while others have been cut hours before the scheduled flight.many Independence Readers report receiving an email overnight on a morning or afternoon flight that was scheduled to take the next hour.
British Airways is making far more savings, like 120-150 per day, but most often this was done a few weeks ago and customers were previously notified. rice field.
On the other hand, Wizz Air has entered a little solid spring, but recently, since June 10th, the cancellation of “many flights” from Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the temporary last minute from the UK airport during June. Announced cancellation at.
At the end of May, Tui drastically shortened the schedule of flights from Manchester Airport, canceling 186 flights from May 31st to June 30th.
Did the airline tell you the reason for the cancellation?
Airline bosses give a variety of reasons for cancellations and shortened schedules, but the overwhelming reason is the lack of staff.
Overall, UK airlines have cut about 30,000 jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic when travel suspensions and strict UK travel restrictions hindered most flights.
Currently, they are trying to “scale up” by hiring new staff, but for many, that’s not happening fast enough.
Oliver Richardson of the Unite Labor Union said:
“Ryanair agreed that there was no redundancy, and British Airways, which lost 10,000 staff due to redundancy, took another position. They kicked out too many people.”
Ryanair operated a schedule primarily planned for spring and summer.
Some airline bosses have suggested that there are not enough crew to operate the entire planned schedule due to delayed approval of new staff.
At this week’s British Parliamentary Business, Energy and Industry Task Force session, easyJet Chief Commercial Officer Sophie Decker said delays in arranging ID passes for new crew members were part of the problem. Condemned various factors of cancellation.
“It now takes about 14 weeks to get a crew ID pass,” Deckers said. “It was about 10 weeks before the pandemic. ID processing surprised us.”
She also attributed the cancellation to general staff shortages, technical issues, and air traffic control issues at easyJet’s airport.
Taking Monday, June 13th as an example, she states: 10 people were canceled on the day. Two of them were by the crew. Two were due to air traffic control and six were due to technology. “
British Airways has also significantly shortened the schedule, but cancellations are believed to be solely due to “staff absence and illness,” some of which were found by crew members who tested positive for Covid-19. It is understood to be the cause.
“I know there’s a lot to do,” Lisa Tremble, CEO and Sustainability Officer of the airline, said in a BEIS session.
“There’s a lot written about fires and rehiring. We want our employees to feel like they’re participating in the construction of this airline,” said Tremble. ..
“We fully accept that what has happened in the last two years has put us in a position to build trust with our unions and the public.
“This year, we offered our employees 10 paid awards.
“If you experience a very traumatic period like us, it will take time to rebuild trust and their relationships. That is our determination, but it will take some time to do it. takes.”
Each new employee working on the “Airside” of a British airline must be referenced and approved by both the Civil Aviation Authority and the Government. The process that some airline bosses say will take longer in 2022 than in the previous year.
This process can take up to 14 weeks, according to sources from several airlines.
Wizz Air said: “Among other issues that cause operational instability across the travel industry, there is a widespread shortage of staff, especially in air traffic control, ground operations, baggage handling, security, and airports as a whole.”
The airline said that most of its flights were operating as planned, increasing communication with passengers and trying to essentially cancel as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, trade unions say many potential new hires have been postponed due to poor working conditions in the travel industry. Sharon Graham, Secretary-General of Unite, said: An industry with low wages and poor conditions. “
Insiders at other airlines have pointed out operational issues at UK airports for certain cancellations, especially those towards the end of the day.
What role does the airport play in cancellation?
Similar to Dublin Airport, UK airports experienced their own staff shortages this spring, as did private companies operating businesses such as baggage handling.
Gatwick Airport had the most cancellations this spring-not only is it the home of easyJet, but industry sources suggest that Gatwick is experiencing its own operational problems.
Earlier this week, senior aviation industry sources said Times West Sussex Airport, the second busiest airport in the UK, lacks the personnel resources to accommodate current flight schedules.
“Since the beginning of the summer, we have had repeated problems with air traffic control restrictions entering Gatwick Airport,” sources said.
“The airport has a shortage of air traffic controllers with approach control capabilities, which imposes restrictions on travel per hour below the declared capacity.”
They went on to say that Gatwick Airport normally handles about 52 “movements” per hour, including departures and arrivals. At some point last week, they claim that this number dropped to 22 an hour.
Luton Airport, like Bristol (small numbers from Glasgow and Edinburgh), had many cancellations every day. On the other hand, the majority of BA pre-cancellations are domestic and short-haul flights from Heathrow.
The pre-reduction of Wizz Air’s schedule was due to an operational dispute with Doncaster Sheffield, whose boss said “as a result of showing that Doncaster Sheffield Airport cannot guarantee the terms of the commercial contract with Wizz Air.” I am saying.
Hundreds of Tui’s Manchester flights have been blamed for “ongoing turmoil” at Manchester Airport.
Other aviation sources have pointed to air traffic control issues elsewhere in Europe as a cause of delays and subsequent cancellations-the issue after France installed a new ATC system at the Reims Control Center in April. I experienced.
In addition, some of the flights that normally cross France are rerouted via Germany, causing congestion on their own ATC network.
Delays due to air traffic control or staff shortages can lead to final cancellations. For example, due to the former factor, some flights were suspended for several hours before takeoff. In other words, it was too late to land at a European airport and the airport became unavailable. To receive them after a curfew. There is some knock-on effect.
What are airlines and ministers doing to fix this?
In recent weeks, airlines have blamed the government, and the government has blamed airlines and other travel agencies.
The aviation industry states that the British government abruptly terminated all travel bans in February. This is due to the complex travel bans over the years and the lack of sufficient time to properly plan and scale up for the summer after many trips between permitted locations. .. ..
Similarly, the minister says the aviation industry has received a lot of attention and should have been prepared for the influx of vacationers.
This week, the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Bureau wrote an open letter to their aviation boss stating five “concrete expectations” for the sector.
These included airlines that carefully reviewed the proposed summer schedules and confirmed that they were fully operational. We will shorten these schedules as needed, but do so a few weeks in advance rather than last minute. Ensure “a well-staffed call center and a user-friendly digital channel” in case of cancellation.
EasyJet cancellation will definitely continue. Yesterday, the airline canceled all flights from the UK to Hurghada until the end of July and said, “We are informing our customers in advance to minimize the impact on our plans.”
In addition, we announced the cancellation of about 40 flights per day from the present to the end of June.
Chief Operating Officer Peter Bellew said:
Regarding late crew references, Aviation Minister Robert Court said in April, “We are looking for ways to help the industry speed up work reference checks by taking advantage of post-Brexit freedom.” I did.
Is it because of Brexit?
Bosses of some airlines, such as Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary and Tui’s David Burling, point out Brexit that British airlines have lost European staff after the transition and are no longer available from within the EU.
Another factor may be that redundant airline staff have moved to other services and hospitality roles and will not return to aviation this year.
IndependentTravel correspondent Simon Calder said:[Prior to Brexit] Much more Europeans worked in hospitality here than in aviation. Most of them have also left the UK. And it created a huge number of vacancies.
“Many talented British aviation experts have been in a hurry for months. [in the pandemic] And it was uncertain whether their work would come back, “backfilling” their role. They are unlikely to be pulled back into a high stress role in nonsocial time. “
At a session of the Business Select Committee yesterday, Aviation Minister Robert Coates said it was “unlikely” that Brexit was part of the labor shortage that led to the turmoil.
“In the evidence that we have it, it looks like Brexit wasn’t a key factor. I don’t think the talent pool is there,” he said.
Other European countries have also experienced turmoil in recent months. Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands and its flagship airline, KLM, are the two most affected, alongside Dublin Airport.
