Delayed flights, canceled flights, lost luggage, endless queues at check-ins and lots and lots of chaos. The summer of those who travel by plane began amidst a thousand difficulties due to the organizational problems who have been scourging for some days the airports half the world, starting with European ones. And there is no illusion that the situation will unblock soon. Indeed, according to Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa, "things will not get better in the coming weeks: the worst is yet to come".
The numbers of chaos in European airports
According to reports The Corriere della Sera, around 11 flights were canceled in Europe in June, triple the same month of 2019. And if we extend the account to the April-June quarter, we reach 70 thousand. For last month's problems alone, European airlines risk having to pay over 450 million euros in compensation to around one and a half million passengers.
Passenger boom and staff shortage
But how did this situation come about? The main problem is that, despite the war and the resurgence of infections from Covid, passenger volume has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but airports and airlines weren't ready. Instead, it registers everywhere a serious shortage of personnel in various sectors: not only flight attendants and ground staff, but also baggage handling, catering and private security companies.
Strikes by airline employees
To all this they also added the strikes (in Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal) which mainly concern low cost airlines and which will continue at least for the whole of this month, also putting a good portion of the (little) staff currently in service out of the game.
Less discomfort in Italy thanks to support measures
In reality, the situation is not equally serious in all countries. The hardships are lower where governments have intervened with measures social protection to limit layoffs during the pandemic, as happened in Italy. "The layoffs and 800 million euros in aid have made it possible to keep airport staff" in our country, he explains to Courier Pierluigi Di Palma, president of the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC).
The airports with the greatest difficulties in Europe
However, air travel is a globally interconnected network, so the discomfort created in other countries can only have repercussions on Italian airports as well. Right now, most of Europe's chaos radiates from UK, where some airports have laid off more than half of their workforce during the most difficult phase of the pandemic. Chaos reigns above all in the London airports (Heathrow e Gatwick). As for the rest of Europe, the most difficult situations are recorded in ad Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Hamburg e Brussels.
ENAC sticks the companies: "Avoid other disruptions"
“Vectors – reads in a note from ENAC – were invited to pay particular attention to full compliance with the obligations established by Community Regulation no. 261/2004 in the event of cancellations and delays, ensuring, in the first place, transparent and timely information to passengers and prompt and effective assistance in the event of disruptions, especially for passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility”.
