Airlines warn of air traffic crash this summer

“As the number of passengers continues to rise in the coming weeks, whether for leisure or business travel, the situation is unlikely to improve in the short term. infrastructure partners but also in some of our own fields. Almost every company in our industry is currently recruiting new staff and several thousand hirings are planned in Europe alone. But this increase in capacity will only have the desired stabilizing effect when winter comes,” said the Lufthansa group.

The lack of staff especially airports British and Amsterdam (Schiphol). So far, companies have canceled around 40,000 scheduled flights Between 1 July and 30 September, for connections within Europe only. Some doomsday heralds point to the possibility that cancellations will skyrocket to 100,000 more if demand remains strong, as it will be impossible to manage passenger traffic.

Spanish airports are generally free of staff shortages, but a contagion effect is expected. Aena sources acknowledge the essence of the problem that came to light this summer, but confirm that “a great effort has been made by all the actors, airlines and companies involved.”transport‘to mitigate the impact of predictable tensions that will occur”.

more police

Among the measures that help to minimize the congestion that can already be detected, 10% increase in police force eg passport control at Barcelona Airport. At the state level, reinforcements are half a thousand agents. Sources from Barcelona Airport announced that security controls will especially prioritize the departure of passengers (to avoid missing flights), and intercontinental air operations will be less affected. Air activity has nearly recovered in Barcelona (currently at 80% of flights in 2019) and that’s missing passengers from China, Russia and North American cruise passengers.

The implementation of temporary employment regulation files (postponed) during the pandemic allowed Aena and Enaire (air traffic controllers) to keep the templates and avoid the problems existing in other countries. However, air service in Spain will be affected. european roads suffering from the problems described. In recent days, most European flights have been delayed by an hour and a half, which could settle down this summer.

The lack of controllers particularly affects the five major airports with a large tourist flow to Spain; in London (Heathrow and Gatwick), British Airways had to cut 10% of its flights by October; In Amsterdam, At the Airport Schiphol; and Frankfurt Y Brussels problems are increasing. Ryanair strike It also causes problems in Spain.

Lufthansa admits it has canceled hundreds of domestic and European flights due to a lack of staff and a low-cost subsidiary. Eurowings. But the flights are full. On European flights, ‘overbooking’ or selling more tickets than the capacity of the aircraft is already implemented.

easy jet admits to canceling 13% of its flights. The company is unable to find jobs and blames the restrictions imposed by the UK’s exit from the EU. About 8,000 job candidates were rejected because of their nationality, 40% of them European.

The staff shortage situation is so urgent that there is an influx of workers to other European airports. Some airlines operating in El Prat have even offered their employees to relocate to other European airports such as Schiphol or Gatwick. Recommendations are made by both operators and VuelingPaying attention to customers, as with transport companies like Swissport.

Lufthansa sources acknowledge that “the ongoing war in Ukraine has severely restricted airspace in Europe. major bottlenecks in the sky and therefore more flight delays unfortunately.