Why the airport chaos across Europe?

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While the various parties blame each other for the airport chaos across Europe primarily because of a shortage of staff, it is interesting to read what some people are saying are contributory factors. Muse and be amused, however you take it.

Travellers are packing more in their hand luggage

According to London’s Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye, long queues at the airport are caused by passengers “travelling with more than they normally would.” He made specific mention of “liquids”. He said: “A lot of people are put off from checking in all of their makeup, for example, because they are worried about whether their bag will make the journey with them.” This means it takes a longer time for clearance, and the consequence is a flight delay.

It is true that more people are travelling with more in their hand luggage although how much more is questionable as there is a limit that they can pack into a bag. It is almost a chicken-and-egg problem. Travellers have lost confidence in their checked baggage travelling with them.

An epidemic of home working

According to Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker, staff shortages faced by the airlines and airports across Europe was the result of an “epidemic” of home working. He said: “This all happened because people learned to get easy money from working out of their homes, and fewer people now want to come and do the jobs that they were doing.”

So you could put all the blame on the Covid-19 pandemic if not the changing work culture caused by it. But there is a price for everything in the equation of supply and demand. There are more than just one factor. Airports are saying airlines are not willing to pay the market rates, and unions point out that the work has become much too stressful under present circumstances. Airlines in turn blame the authorities for the cumbersome procedures to certify new employees.

According to a baggage handler at London’s Heathrow Airport, the old technology of the baggage system has compounded the problem. He added, “There are not enough baggage belts for the amount of flights. You could be waiting half an hour for a belt when a flight comes in. Within that half an hour, another flight will come in, which makes it ten times worse.”

In the end, it is the passengers who suffer the consequences.

If anything, the pandemic should have been a wake-up call to how things are changing. It is a time to rethink, adapt, innovate, invest and improve.

A problem of black bags

According to Frankfurt Airport, the chaos is partially caused by too many people travelling with black suitcases. Its spokesperson Thomas Kirner said: “Many people travel with black suitcases on wheels which makes identifying them very time-intensive.”

It used to be a worry of travellers not being able to spot their bags fast enough before someone else picks them up at the arrival belt. In any case, bags are loaded according to their tags, and should arrive at the destination according to the procedure. In is understandable that in the present climate, it makes the job of retrieving lost bags among a mountain of them more onerous. Until black becomes less common, travellers may find it good advice to go for a different colour.

Twilight Bag Drop for easyJet passengers

Airlines are encouraging their passengers to get to the airport earlier than usual to ensure they have time to drop their bags off for timely loading on to the same flight, Budget carrier easyJet goes one step further by reintroducing Twilight Bag Drop which allows its passengers to check in their bags the night before their flight. This is available at some airports including London Gatwick, Bristol Airport and Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Germany.

Well, why not, if you live near enough the airport?

Heathrow Airport vs Airlines: Who’s to blame for airport chaos? (News update)

The boss of Heathrow Airport has hit back at criticism from Ryanair, saying it is “bizarre” to blame airports for not having enough staff. (Report courtesy of BBC)

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62295867

Courtesy Getty Images

Airport chaos: Why only in the West?

Courtesy EPA

It’s a mess, a big mess. That about sums up the state of travel at a number of major airports in the Untied States, Canada and Europe.

Long lines for both arriving and departing passengers, an unprecedented high number of flight delays and cancellations, and missing luggage.

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic during which thousands of staff have been laid off, now both airports and airlines are facing recruitment problems to beef up their numbers to cope with the surge in demand for travel as the rules restricting travel are being relaxed.

Not helping, both parties are blaming each other for the mess.

Some airports including London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport are imposing a cap on the number of passengers that they can handle each day. Heathrow limits it 100,000 passengers a day and Schiphol to 60,000.

This has drawn criticism from the airlines, which call the ruling unreasonable and unacceptable.

Emirates Airlines for one has said they will not comply with Heathrow’s ruling, seeing no reason why they should suffer for the inefficiency of the airport when they “are fully ready and capable of handling our flights.” The Middle-East airline said “the crux of the issue lies with the central services and systems which are the responsibility of the airport operator.”

Director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Willie Walsh called it “a ridiculous thing” for an airport to say to an airline to stop selling seats. H added: “I am surprised Heathrow have not been able to get their act together better than this. Airlines have been predicting stronger traffic than Heathrow has been predicting… they clearly got it completely wrong.”

Heathrow countered that the airlines have not prepared early enough for the surge in travel and that they are not prepared to pay the going rate for hire. More than half the ground handlers in Europe have left the workforce.

In Canada, some people are blaming the cumbersome COVID checks procedures at security as one of the reasons for the long lines, allegedly up to four hours in an extreme case. The airlines are encouraging passengers to report at the airport, but the authorities say this only exacerbates the problem of congestion.

American Airlines has cancelled 1,175 flights in July and August to allow “buffer” in its schedule to minimize disruptions. It is not alone. United Airlines is reducing flights for the remainder of the year to similarly “create more buffer into the system” to stay resilient, according to its CEO Scott Kirby. Delta Air has also cut back flights.

In the end, the passengers are the ones to suffer, having their travel plans disrupted. Many of them have been left stranded when their flight delays are cancelled, missed their connections and arrived without their checked luggage.

A curious question to ask is why the chaos is happening in North America and Europe but not

elsewhere in the world? Perhaps, not as yet as IATA warns that there are signs that Australia may be next.

Perhaps it is the good fortune of these other regions that the surge in travel rebound is not as robust. They can therefore learn from the North American and European experiences.

But it speaks a lot about being prepared, which is puzzling how the operators in the west seem not to be. To make matters worse, particularly in Europe, they are prone to crew and ground staff going on strike in the summer months because it is when it hurts most.

Biting off more than one can chew has its undesirable consequences.

News Update: Schiphol Airport limits passenger numbers

 

Courtesy Reuters

If you do not have adequate staffing to manage the various airport procedures, then the alternative seems to be to limit the number of passengers passing through the airport. 

(See Who is responsible for the chaos at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Jun 15, 2022; The good and bad news on the road to recovery, Jun 8, 2022.)

This is what Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has decided to do, which of course leaves airlines unhappy that they may not be able to cater fully to market demands for seats. In response, KLM says it will hold the airport responsible for any consequent financial impact.

Schiphol’s rationale is that “setting a limit now means that the large majority of travellers will be able to travel from Schiphol in a safe and responsible way” according to its CEO Dick Benschop.

Full report courtesy of Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/amsterdams-schiphol-airport-limits-number-summer-passengers-2022-06-16/

 

 

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Who is responsible for the chaos at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport?

Image from The Toronto Star

For many travellers using Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, the worsening past weeks have been a harrowing experience. Passengers wait in long lines for as long as two hours and more to clear airport security, customs and immigration. There is a snowballing effect. Consequently many flights have been either delayed or cancelled.

It is expedient to blame the chaos on the coronavirus pandemic which necessitates layers of procedures to ensure that all travellers meet both entry and exit requirements. Ultimately it points to the dire shortage of staff to man the various operations.

Former Air Canada Chief Operations Officer Duncan Dee said, “It seems the federal government failed to properly plan for a return to travel.”

The relaxation of travel restrictions means more people are starting to travel. Airlines are of course only too happy to be selling more seats. However, there are cracks along the operating line, which points to the lack of coordination between all parties concerned.

When asked who should be held responsible for the chaos, Air Passenger Rights founder Gabor Lukacs said: “Between CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency which manages customs and immigration), the airlines and CATSA (Canadian Air Transport Security Authority), they have some kind of shared responsibility…. Airlines should not be selling more tickets… than airport is able to handle.”

It raised the question of whether they collectively knew of the staffing shortages and whether the information has been shared,.

The living nightmare is expected to last through the summer.

While Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra pointed out that many European airports have also been struggling with delays and long lines, hence it is not a problem unique to Canada, there is little comfort in sharing the misery. What would be more pertinent is how Pearson is going to alleviate the problem. (See The Good and Bad News On the Road to Recovery, Jun 8, 2022)

The good and bad news on the road to recovery

Courtesy EPA

The good news is that airlines are on the road to recovery faster than expected. And the bad news, many of them are not prepared for it.

North America, which is leading in the recovery, is afflicted with massive flight delays. American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines passengers are among the worst hit.

A major problem is a shortage of pilots which resulted in hundreds of planes being grounded.

Travellers in Canada too are facing long lines at the airport due to reduced staffing.

Over in the Untied Kingdom, thousands of travellers are either denied their holiday abroad or stuck overseas after the cancellation of their flights. Passengers booked with British Airways, easyjet, Tui Airways and Wizz Air are among those affected.

How did it get to be so bad?

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps put it simply that too many jobs had been cut and airlines had “seriously oversold flights and holidays”.

UK airlines cut about 30,000 jobs, almost half the number employed in 2019. Thousands of other airport support staff had also been let go.

Yet this was only to be expected at the height of the pandemic. It made economic sense then. The present problem is exacerbated by staff forced into early retirement during the pandemic and others who have sought alternative employment elsewhere and prefer not to return to the industry.

True, airlines are biting off more than they can chew. They can do better. They in turn blame the authorities for not doing enough to support them. There are issues of long employment vetting and training of new staff. Unions think not enough consideration is given to pay and work conditions.

The situation has developed into a blaming match. What is needed now is for all parties to work together and think of the customers who invariably end up being the worst off through no fault of theirs.

Is air travel heading back sooner than expected to being normal again?

Courtesy Reuters

Airlines in the United States are urging their government to dispense with Covid-19 pre-departure testing for international travel.

North of its border, there is similar pressure from travel businesses urging the Canadian government to further relax vaccination mandates although since April, fully vaccinated travellers can enter the country without a pre-departure Covid-19 test but may be subject to a random test upon arrival. The test is still required for partially or unvaccinated travellers.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom while calling the requirements “nonsensical” said they were depressing travel. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian joined in the call to boost travel, citing how some 50 countries no longer require the test.

Singapore for one. Fully vaccinated travellers are now not subject to pre-departure and on-arrival Covid-19 testing.

As more countries remove the various barriers to international travel, there is pressure to follow suit or risk being left out of the game. Even Hong Kong has begun making a U-turn on its zero-infection policy which has very much constrained Cathay Pacific on the road to recovery.

Thailand, for which international tourism is a mainstay of its economy, has been more liberal than many in admitting foreign travellers despite a daily average of 20,000 cases of viral infection February to April this year. Even then unvaccinated travellers could gain restricted entry.

To quote Thai Finance Minister Arkhom Terpittayapaisith, “Reopening and managing the outbreak need to go hand in hand.”

While some countries such as Japan are still moving very cautiously forward, admitting limited number of travellers under restrictive programs, it looks like air travel may be heading back to being what it was sooner than expected. Not a new normal, but normal as it used to be.

Air Travel Unmasked

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IT is a significant sign that air travel is returning to pre-Covid days as airlines in the United States no longer require crews and passengers to wear a mask. This follows the ruling by a federal judge repealing the mandatory requirement laid down by the Biden administration.

However, so far the new freedom applies only to domestic flights and travellers may continue to don the mask out of personal concern if they so choose to do so.

American Airlines said customers and employees could wear masks “at their own discretion”. United Airlines similarly said they will be able to wear masks “if they choose to do so.” Over at Southwest Airlines, the message to crews and travellers is that “they will be free to make the best decision to support their personal well-being.” JetBlue said “mask wearing will now be optional” but customers and crews are still “welcome” to wear them. Spirit Airlines put it as follows: “We understand some guests may want to continue wearing face coverings on flights, and that’s perfectly fine.”

The rule does not apply to flights beyond the US borders where many countries still enforce mask mandates. Alaska Airlines, for one, which operates between the US and Canada, will continue to require passengers on those flights to don masks.

It is believed that the mask provides an additional layer of protection, and this is deemed more critical when a long time is spent within a confined space such as an aircraft cabin. Many airlines have assured their customers that they have installed the best of hospital-standard air circulating systems.

Frontier Airlines goes further than their compatriot airlines in stating that “customers and team members should continue to abide by mask rules within any facility that may require it. Per CDC guidance, regardless of whether a mask mandate is in effect, individuals are encouraged to continue to wear masks in indoor settings.”

While many travellers are celebrating the move to unmask, there are others who are not ready to unmask in light of new waves of infection particularly if they think the federal judgment is one based more on social considerations than scientific findings. It may be a happy median, as apparently the majority of cases of air rage on US flights in the past two years and more invariably has something to do with the mask. The world waits to see if the US move is an act to follow as more countries open up their borders.

Cabin rage: An American problem

The incidence of passengers misbehaving on board an aircraft seems to be much higher in the United States than elsewhere in the world. And the numbers are rising.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), last year was the worst on record for unruly passenger behavior with some 6,000 reported cases. About one-third of them related to face masks. The problem has not abated, as there were already 500 incidents reported in the first six weeks of 2022.

Such incidents include verbal abuse and physical violence directed at crew or other passengers. On February 9, the crew and passengers on board a Frontier Airlines used zip ties to retrain an unruly passenger who had made several threatening statements.

In the same month on February 13, American Airlines reported two separate incidents of unruly passengers on board. The first incident involved a passenger said to be “displaying erratic behaviour” as he tried to open the plane’s door following a scuffle with a flight attendant. The second incident resulted in the flight returning to base “due to a passenger disruption”.

Some psychoanalysts are quick to offer explanations for the unruly behaviour as the result of the societal pressure and tension felt during the ongoing COVID pandemic. Whatever the cause, it calls for preventative action to ensure a safe flight for everyone on board. Air travellers can be spared the unnecessary anxiety of disruption caused by such unruly behaviour of another passenger.

Abuse of crew is of particular concern. Federal law states that “no person may assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with a crewmember in the performance of the crewmember’s duties aboard an aircraft being operated.”

Courtesy Getty Images

To this end, Delta Air Lines for one is pushing for a federal ”no-fly” list. CEO Ed Bastian said: “Any individual that’s disruptive aboard an airplane, that gets in the way of customer and employee safety needs to be addressed at the highest possible level.” He went on to say that the action would “help prevent future incidents and serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not complying with crew member instructions on commercial aircraft.”

Delta has maintained its own “no-fly” list of nearly 1,900 people for refusing to comply with masking requirements. The airline has submitted more than 900 banned names to the Transportation Security Administration to pursue civil penalties.

Some lawmakers however are against such a ruling, citing among other reasons the vague definition of what constitutes unruly behaviour, the individual’s rights to fair treatment, and the inappropriate nature of the punishment. It is an American problem.

News update: Australia reopens its borders

Image from Australia’s Science Channel TV

In the words of Peter Shelley, managing director of the Australian Tourism Export Council, “it’s been a long, hard and desperate road.” But not for much longer as Australia will open its borders to vaccinated international travellers come February 21.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/australia-open-borders-vaccinated-travelers-045623931.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

Meantime, Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam reiterated a “dynamic zero” Covid-19 strategy to contain the virus in line with mainland China’s policy.