Why Britain's airline chaos is not going away any time soon - Mark Casci

It will have been an experience people will have been dreaming of for so long.

Yet, for thousands of holidaymakers, this dream has proved to be a nightmare.

Hundreds of people had their flights cancelled, with many more delayed by significant periods of time.

Passengers booked with easyJet, British Airways, Tui Airways and Wizz Air are among those who have seen their plans to return from half-term or bank holiday breaks disrupted.

Both Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Leeds Bradford Airport had significant disruption over the weekend and angry travellers were not shy in expressing their frustrations.

It is a difficult time for the aviation industry and it is important to recognise that a lot of the disruption is out of their hands.

The sector is struggling to cope with the rise in demand for travel amid a severe staffing shortage.

Many ground crew, flight attendants, baggage handlers and other essential personnel left the industry during the pandemic. As such, UK airline passengers have been hit by disruption for several months due to a lack of staff after letting thousands of people go during the coronavirus pandemic.

With flights grounded and at times no end in sight for when they would return, financial losses were so great that cloth had to be cut, severely.

It is a story familiar to many other sectors, most notably hospitality and retail, which have struggled owing to staffing levels far short of what they offered previously.

Questions however must be raised with both airports and airlines as to why they have offered passengers such a level of service without the personnel to adequately staff them. While it is possible to understand the urgent need to bring in revenue after such heavy losses, it is however incumbent on them to offer a proper service as responsible corporate operators.

The bad news is this is not a simple case of ironing out some teething problems while new staff are recruited.

There is no hidden army of new staffers hiding in the shadows. Those that are coming forward face lengthy security checks. And with vacancy rates at record highs across UK industry, there is no shortage of competition.

Airlines, airports and ground handling companies are calling for a relaxation of migration rules to help with the crisis.

However, as is so often the case in this day and age, such requests have been ignored by Government. At the weekend Transport Secretary Grant Shapps rejected calls to open the door to what he disrespectfully termed more “cheap” overseas workers in a bid to relieve the pressure on the aviation sector.

Asked whether he would temporarily allow more foreign workers into the industry to alleviate staffing pressures, told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme: “The answer can’t always be to reach for the lever marked ‘More immigration’.”

This is the same lazy trope repeated by Brexiteers we have been hearing for years, that roles once performed by foreign workers can be easily filled by a supposedly invisible abundance of untapped British labour.

Such a preponderance of UK workers does not exist. Without opening the door to more foreign labour these problems will not go away in the long term.

Meanwhile, with summer looming, the disruption and misery seen for UK passengers will sadly continue.

Most flights will be unaffected by a significantly higher volume than normal will.

If, like me, you are due to fly this summer, my only advice to you is the following: good luck.