European airports ask that passengers take only essential items with them and be prepared for queues. But even that does not guarantee a smooth journey when strikes and Corona reduce the workforce.
The tourism industry in Europe is rejoicing when travelers have come back after the corona restrictions have been lifted. In many countries, the desire to travel was increased by spring price sales and campaigns aimed at helping tourism affected by the corona virus.
However, airlines and airports in particular are reeling from the rapidly rising passenger numbers.
European airports have not managed to increase their staff in the same proportion. During the pandemic, temporary employment relationships in security checks and baggage handling have not been extended and new employees have not been trained.
Before now – in a hurry.
Amsterdam airport in chaos
At the beginning of the summer season, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol made headlines in particular. The number of passengers there increased by 324 percent in January-June compared to a year ago. In June, 23.7 million people passed through the airport.
In June, difficulties at Schiphol were increased by runway renovation: two of the station’s six runways were out of use due to repairs. When the wind situation was still difficult in terms of landings, transit traffic was also messed up.
The passengers did not make it to their connecting flights, so they had to be accommodated in hotels. In the end, the largest airline using Schiphol, Dutch KLM, had no choice but to fly more than 50 of its planes back to Amsterdam without passengers on the first weekend of June. That way, they didn’t end up in the middle of the traffic chaos, but were left waiting to leave elsewhere.
Now during the holiday season until the end of August, KLM will reduce 10-20 flights a day to European destinations to ease the pressure at Schiphol. Other airlines have also canceled their flights to Schiphol, including Finnair.
The labor shortage is also great in Holland
The queue at Schiphol has sometimes been so long that it has squirmed inside the tents set up outside the station.
According to Schiphol’s announcement (you will switch to another service) the traffic jams will continue throughout the summer season, but starting in August there will be relief. The airport has managed to recruit over 200 more employees. However, their safety mapping and training still takes time.
Recruitment has not been easy because there is a shortage of workers everywhere in the Netherlands. Almost all hotels and restaurants are also looking for people. In addition, there are more concerts and events canceled during the corona virus this summer than ever before, and airport security inspectors have also been in demand as their security personnel.
Last weekend, there were clearly new people at work at Schiphol. However, it was also one of the busiest weekends of the summer. An estimated 59,000 departing passengers arrived at the station per day.
The waiting time was almost three hours at its worst on Friday, and around two hours for most of the day on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, I only had to wait in line for half an hour from the end of the afternoon.
KLM’s low-cost airline Transavia and charter flight operators have also moved their flights to depart from Lelystad, Rotterdam and Eindhoven airports to ease the situation in Amsterdam. The fields in question are designed for smaller numbers of passengers, so they too have had long queues.
London limits the number of passengers, in France there are strikes
There have been problems in many other countries as well. For example, Heathrow Airport in London limits its capacity by about 4,000 passengers to 100,000 daily passengers, which is why airlines have to cancel flights. The state of emergency will continue at least until September 11.
There are no traffic restrictions at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, but the waiting times for both departing and arriving passengers are long. You have to wait more than an hour for your luggage, and the airport recommends arriving at least 2.5 hours before the flight’s departure.
in France the biggest problem has been the strike (you switch to another service). The employees are dissatisfied with the working conditions and overtime, and some of the baggage handlers’ unions have been on strike in July. In Paris, about a quarter of flights were canceled last weekend, and there were also problems at provincial airports. For example, up to 40 percent of Bordeaux flights were cancelled.
The unions want a 300-euro salary increase for all those working at airports. According to them, 15,000 employees disappeared from the industry during the corona period.
On the other hand, ADP, which operates Paris airports, says that the company currently has 4,000 vacancies. According to ADP, there are great difficulties in recruiting, especially when airports elsewhere have also started hunting for labor from abroad.
Flight chaos bothers me also in the USA (you switch to another service) and in Australia. Since the end of May, US airlines have canceled around 30,000 flights, and the number for the whole year is already over 100,000. The main reason is the lack of staff. Airports are also congested.
Have you been stuck in a traffic jam at the airport this summer? You can discuss the topic from Wednesday 20.7. until 11 p.m.