British holidaymakers planning a trip abroad in the next six months have been warned to expect a ‘summer of chaos’ at airports.
Staff shortages are expected to cause massive nationwide disruption as the aviation industry continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
A source told The Times that the recruitment process was “cripplingly slow”.
The source said: “The process is extremely slow. Aviation has been one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic, suffered from a lack of targeted support and is now facing a disrupted summer with the government’s slow vetting of personnel.
Delays in processing security checks for new airline crew are increasing the number of canceled flights, according to the easyJet boss.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said the airline, which has canceled hundreds of flights in recent days, is waiting for the Department for Transport (DfT) to clear around 100 new staff to start work.
Mr Lundgren explained that this was mainly due to high levels of coronavirus-related staff absences, but also blamed the time it takes for the government to vet new recruits.
He said: ‘There is this delay of clearance from the DfT (Department for Transport) for people to get their IDs.
“There is a backlog there and we are currently waiting for around 100 cabin crew to get their IDs.
“There is a three-week delay on this. It had an impact. If it had been on time, we would have seen fewer cancellations.
He added: “I understand that the DfT and ministers are doing what they can to speed up and speed this up – which we find very constructive – but it has certainly had an impact.”
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Government responds to delay in personnel vetting process
The government replied: ‘The one thing the British public don’t want us to take a risk on who has security clearance to work in airlines. They and the travel companies have treated their staff so badly during the pandemic that it’s no surprise they don’t want to come back.
There has been a surge in demand for flights as many families have traveled overseas for the Easter school holidays, which are the first since UK coronavirus restrictions for international travelers were dropped.
Airlines have been keen to attract as many bookings as possible after suffering huge losses from the virus crisis, but are struggling to cope with staff shortages.
The problem is partly caused by difficulties finding new recruits and getting their security checks processed after thousands of jobs were cut during the pandemic.
There are also high levels of coronavirus-related staff absences.
Travelers using Birmingham, Heathrow and Manchester airports have reported long queues.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-04-12 09:21:50
