Though passenger traffic demand has surged to an all-time high since the COVID-19 recovery began, airlines and airport infrastructure are on the back foot in the race to keep up with demand pressure. Airlines especially, are facing a staff shortage having laid off several workers at the peak of the devastating pandemic.
Routes affected include London to Berlin, Dublin, Geneva, Paris, Stockholm, Athens and Prague. The flagship carrier axed another 200-plus flight early this week, affecting an estimated 20,000 passengers. Alaska Airlines last week said it would trim its schedule two per cent through the end of June to handle a pilot shortage after canceling dozens of flights earlier in the month because of staffing shortages.
“Recruitment for people at airports takes longer than roles elsewhere because of necessary, additional security and background checks. Routine recruitment campaigns ground to halt during the pandemic and have been slow to start again as international travel has had several restrictions on it until recently. That means the recruitment pipeline was cut off and needs to be re-established.