What's causing travel chaos across Europe? | Inside Story

Airlines have been forced to cancel thousands of flights due to strike action, staff shortages and weather.
Queues of passengers snaking through some European airports are a familiar sight. Some airlines are advising people to turn-up for check-in four to five hours early.
Passenger volumes are at almost pre-pandemic levels but staffing isn't.
Airlines and airports are struggling to re-hire people they laid off during the height of the pandemic.
Airports have told airlines to cut the number of seats they're selling.
What does it mean for the travel Industry?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests
David Learmount, aviation analyst and consulting editor for Flightglobal.
Susan Seubert, National Geographic Travel photographer.
Alex Macheras, aviation consultant and author of 'Aviation Briefing'.

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[jbundles]

The 1st commentator said, “they had to lay off people” which isn’t true. They chose to lay off people because of greed! The airlines especially the top officials chose to make these unnecessary decisions. It’s their fault!

[agni]

I read that Heathrow has laid off more than 20% of their staff!!! That is insane!

[viciousvictortee]

My Sister left the US last month. Arrived in Canada. Watched her plane leave with her ticket in hand. Her seat was given to someone else. She was planning on a cruise to Europe. For a month.

[SvenvanOijen]

In the case of Schiphol Airport, during the pandemic the government gave Schiphol Airport stimilus checks to keep workers. What these amateurs didn't cover was that this should also include sub-contractors. Schiphol almost fully runs on sub-contractors so they got rid of 30% of the total workforce. Now post-pandemic and with inflation skyrocketing through society, they are surprised that these people don't want to return for the same lousy terms they got before the pandemic. This is a management problem and they should be accountable, but in the Netherlands accountability doesn't exist.

[seahorse]

during pandemic airline industry laid workers as many as they can, now as pent up demand explode they're struggles to find a workers

[ulviyyaalizade]

25 000 flights were cancelled in August, however right now we are living in July, what is that point?

[paulybarr]

I like Alex's word 'smoothen', as in ' things will smoothen out'.

[johnnyboyvan]

Pay the workers properly and cut management. ✂️ So glad I decided not to head for Europe this summer 😅.

[cresenteayo]

Europeans despite having fought 2 major wars, and wars for the ideals of liberty, fraternity and egalitarian of the Napoleonic era, had fought countless others until world war I. And yet it looked like the reasons and caused of why they went to war against each other had not been healed with time or resolved. Animosities, political ideology, issues of territory, borders and ethnicity, economic and military rivalry still caused friction leading to all-out war.

[crystalwright]

Very comprehensive and enlightening report.

[niksiever]

BA had to cut more than 10k flights all the way to the end of October.

[paulbadics]

In Canada airline workers make much higher wage & benefits than average worker & twice as much as retail & service jobs so dont see what other jobs they found

[TenKurVynas]

yeah well, if the airline ticket prices keep rising, i won't be able to travel at all. just like many others. that'll most likely curb the number of passengers naturally, but the profits will also suffer (traveling is not only ticket prices, but also all those extra services and purchases in airports, which is - fewer people = fewer purchases of extras). checked ticket prices and already am very reluctant to pay those.

[blackphoenix]

theres a massive cover up by social media in the west about the real reason why🤣, planes does not have enough fuel to run anymore, its so expensive that travel companies needs to limit their flight

[juliashaw]

Can the UK send in the army to help at LHR? ...or too many cut backs there too? Vietnam would do that on day 1.

[robertfoee]

Arriving beyond four hours is useless as most airports won't take your luggage until four hours from your flight. Then you get to sit in no-mans-land outside of security with one doughnut shop for thousands of people. ;)

[marvindeguzman]

if its manpower you need there are a lot looking.

[theultimatereductionist]

Force all police officers and judges and lawyers to do useful labor such as flying airplanes and running an airport.

[mrfugazi]

Probably exactly the same thing that was causing the chaos about a month ago, if there was chaos at the airports about a month then surely it’s not gonna change yet is it. Common sense would tell you not to book a holiday surely.

[bikeandsee]

No fair pay no work. Or what did you expect ?