(CNN) – Now is the summer of our discontent, Shakespeare did not write exactly in “Richard III”, but for travelers with airlines in the US and Europe, this is exactly what is emerging this summer.
Flights are disappearing from schedules – some at the last minute, as airlines fail to offer services for which passengers have spent significant sums of money, often hoping to enjoy their first escape in years. More than 1,500 flights were canceled in the United States alone last Saturday and Sunday, and the United States is heading for its busy holiday weekend on July 4. Delta Air Lines cut about 100 flights a day from its schedule in July to “minimize disruptions” and issued a passenger exemption on July 4 as it prepares for passenger volumes “unprecedented before the pandemic.” Air Canada said it would cancel up to 10 percent of flights in July and August, approximately 150 a day.
At airports, scenes of passengers lining up at terminal doors or camping in departure halls are becoming more familiar, as delays in security, check-in and immigration add to the chaos.
Passengers were asked to show up even earlier to complete their flights, and then, to confuse, they were again asked to show up not too early. “Please note that you are welcome in the take-off room only 4 hours before the flight,” Amsterdam’s Shipol Airport advised this week.
And then there is the problem with luggage. At London Heathrow Airport, photos showing huge piles of bags separated from their owners have become emblematic of the experiences of many pilots facing the frustration of trying to retrieve lost items or wait days to reunite with them.
No quick fixes
Airports and airlines are struggling to replace trained workers released during the pandemic.
Chandan Han / AFP / Getty Images
Overall, air travel is a bit of a nightmare – even a gamble – right now. And the high season is just beginning.
There are obviously no quick fixes. This week, the German airline Lufthansa warned passengers in an email that the situation was unlikely to improve in the short term, insisting that stability would not be achieved until the winter.
“Too many employees and resources are still unavailable, not only to our infrastructure partners, but also to some of our own areas,” it said. “Currently, almost every company in our industry is recruiting, and several thousand are planned in Europe alone.”
Even when the problem is mainly related to the airport, it can also mean delays and cancellations. The Dutch carrier KLM was recently forced to cancel all incoming European flights to Amsterdam, apparently due to the crowded airport.
So what’s going on? Much of commercial aviation is an almost real rocket science, but the set of problems that airlines and airports are currently experiencing is not that. Instead, it is a much more normal business problem: staff.
And the aviation industry had to see it.
‘No surprise’
The crowds and queues at airport terminals are becoming a feature of air travel in the summer of 2022.
Stefan Mae / Reuters
“Between their own research, the research that my company and others have done, and their reservation systems, airline executives needed to see – and therefore needed to know – that there would be a great demand to travel again,” said Henry Harteveld, director. at market research and consulting firm Atmosphere Research.
“Either they haven’t looked at their own data, or they’ve misread it, or they’ve misinterpreted it, but none of this should come as a surprise to airlines.
In almost every case, the problem is that too many experienced people were released during the pandemic – either fired or left voluntarily – and that airlines, airports and other key parts of the aviation system were not hired and qualified enough to replace them. .
This qualification point is important. As airlines and airports know all too well, there is a whole process to getting someone such a security pass that allows them to work on a plane or at an airport gate.
In the United Kingdom, there is also the fact that they cannot draw from the group of workers in the European Union after Brexit.
There is often quite complex training related to actually doing the job, not least because the look and feel of many computer air transport systems seems to look more at home in the 80s than in the modern world of the iPhone or Android.
Addison Schonland, a partner at aviation analysis and reporting firm AirInsight, summarizes the likely sectors affected as “any part of the air travel system that has employees.”
“Layoffs are easy, it’s hard to bring back people with the right security clearance,” Schonland said. “Also, American airlines in particular have a reputation for being unreliable employers – boom and bust cycles mean volatile careers – plus work requires skilled people and trying to work. These people probably have more attractive opportunities now.”
Some of the problems are around too much outsourcing.
Recipe for a break
Mountains of bags, separated from their owners at London’s Heathrow Airport, have become emblematic of the current problems with air transport.
Takuya Matsumoto / The Yomiuri Shimbun / Reuters Connect
At many airports, especially in Europe, key tasks such as check-in, security, baggage, exit and airport operations are performed by employees working for third country companies with which airlines and airports enter into contracts. You will often notice them in soft uniforms this is not the same as your airline employees.
These people do work that is actually quite difficult in some cases – such as lifting sacks outside in the snow and sun, working before dawn and late at night, and dealing with increasingly frustrated passengers.
Part of it is a real issue of labor relations.
For example, during the pandemic, British Airways asked some employees in the United Kingdom to reduce salaries by 10%. Since then, the salaries of some workers have been increased, but not the Heathrow employees, who are now ready to strike to get it. British Airways said it was disappointed with the move and hoped to find a way to avoid industrial action.
No matter which side of the Atlantic you are on, this is a recipe for a break.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration is facing problems due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, says Harteveld of Atmosphere Research.
“Covid-related health restrictions have limited the FAA’s ability to hire and train new air traffic controllers in 2020 and 2021,” he said. “In addition, air traffic controllers must retire at the age of 56, and the calendar does not stop during these two years.
“The FAA is actively hiring people to become air traffic controllers, but the training process takes time. Meanwhile, airlines are planning more flights to some destinations, especially to Florida, than the FAA can handle.
“So even when the weather is good, the FAA sometimes has to give some flights longer, less direct routes, which can lead to delays, in order to distribute the burden on their air traffic control centers.
So what should pilots do?
The best advice I can give you as an aviation journalist who has never seen so much interference is to book a defense.
– Consider flying alternatives if your journey is possible in less than eight hours by train, boat, bus or car. If you’re not traveling with people who need to return to school in the fall, consider traveling in September or October, not July or August.
– If you need to fly, choose direct flights over transfer flights, if available and available. Connections add complexity and increase vulnerability to cancellation or delay, especially in places that may experience severe weather problems in the summer.
– In Europe, choose smaller centers with a reputation for efficiency and no serious disruptions have been reported recently: Munich, Zurich and Vienna are the safest bets.
– Choose flights earlier in the day, not later – this will mean more opportunities to travel the same day in case your flight is canceled or significantly delayed. Close ties – anything less than a few – should be avoided if possible.
– Choose airlines that offer many flights a day on the route, not those with one or two.
– Explore what other options are available along the route. If you show up during the day and there are thunderstorms in Dallas or Houston, can you ask the airline agent to direct you through Chicago, Philadelphia or Dulles?
– Some airlines offer fast check-in and security, access to the cabin and priority boarding as an additional purchase and this is a better deal than ever. Or in the US, consider TSA PreCheck. Log in to your reservation every few weeks to see if there are upgrade options at a discount: This is a great time to spend for extra comfort and quick benefits.
– Join your airline’s frequent flight schedule. Not only will you get a few miles, but most re-booking systems will give priority to frequent flyers in some way – even those with low balances. Also use the airline’s app, which will make it easy to re-book.
– In case the re-booking options in the app do not work, phone calls or social media may work. Airlines often respond to direct messages via Twitter. The platform is also good for airline updates, airport or even weather.
– Pack the light and choose only hand luggage if you can. If you need to check your bags, keep your clothes for a few days and all the necessary things in your hand luggage. Bring snacks, chargers and charge your devices with TV and movies. And wear the most important thing this summer – and anytime you travel: patience.
Good luck and feel free to ask questions on Twitter where you can find me as @thatjohn.
Top image: Passengers stand in line to check the TSA at Orlando International Airport, May 3. Credit: Kirby Lee / AP
Aviation journalist John Walton specializes in the passenger experience. With more than a decade of experience spanning aircraft, seats, cabins, connectivity, digital, design, marketing and branding, he has a unique perspective on what makes the world’s largest industry. It can be found on Twitter at …
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