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Why are so many flights being cancelled? | |
(1 day later) | |
Flight cancellations and airport delays are expected to continue over the next few months, and could affect summer holiday plans. | |
Thousands of passengers were left stranded abroad after more disruption over the Jubilee weekend. | |
One of the main issues is staff shortages, although the government and industry disagree about who is to blame for the problem. | |
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled? | What are my rights if my flight is cancelled? |
How bad are the staff shortages? | |
Covid restrictions in the UK and across the globe were hugely challenging for the travel industry. | |
Airlines UK, the industry body for airlines registered here, said airlines have cut about 30,000 jobs since the start of the pandemic, having previously employed 74,000 people in 2019. | |
Thousands of jobs were also cut from airports and aviation support activities, which used to employ another 66,000 people. | Thousands of jobs were also cut from airports and aviation support activities, which used to employ another 66,000 people. |
In June 2020, for example, Swissport, which had about 8,500 staff at UK airports - including baggage handlers and security personnel - announced it would halve its workforce. | |
The company has hired 2,800 people since January, but 1,200 of them still don't have full security clearance, which limits the duties they can carry out. | |
Unions have also said that many previous airport staff who were laid off after the start of the pandemic have since taken jobs in other sectors. | |
The Office for National Statistics said that there were a record 1,295,000 job vacancies in the UK between February and April 2022. | |
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary also pointed out that Brexit has made it harder for the industry to bring in European workers to fill gaps. | |
What's happening about vetting? | |
Airport staff need security clearance from both the Civil Aviation Authority and the government to be able to do their jobs. | |
There have been reports that the vetting process has been taking considerably longer than the usual 14 weeks. | |
EasyJet has cancelled dozens of flights in the last week | |
However, the Cabinet Office insisted this was not true, telling BBC News: "There are absolutely no delays to security vetting of applicants. | |
"It is wrong to suggest otherwise, and we are prioritising vetting applications from the aviation industry." | |
The government did change the rules at the end of April to allow new staff to receive training while waiting for their final clearance. | |
Did anyone see these problems coming? | |
Demand for travel has grown sharply since final restrictions for passengers entering the UK were lifted on 18 March. | |
The TUC has accused the government of failing to properly prepare the airline industry for the end of lockdown. | |
The government said its ministers met with industry leaders before half-term to ensure that they were ready. | |
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps accused airlines and operators of "seriously [overselling] flights and holidays". | |
But the Conservative MP Huw Merriman, chairman of the Transport Select Committee, told the BBC that airlines have an obligation to fill 70% of their airport slots or risk losing them. | |
He said they have no choice but to try to operate at these levels, despite the staffing pressures. | |
Gemma Antrobus, who chairs the Association of Independent Tour Operators, also rejected the government's criticism, blaming a lack of sector-specific support since the start of the pandemic. | |
"Getting back to those levels of staffing, of training, is not as quick and as simple as just a flick of a light switch." | |
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said ministers and industry also have to address "chronic low pay" in the sector. | |
The government said it had given £8bn of support to the industry during the pandemic. | |
This included help under the furlough scheme, loan guarantees and the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme, which offered £4m grants to airports and companies providing them with services such as maintenance and cleaning. | |
How long will the problems last? | |
Airlines warned after disruption at Easter that the situation wasn't likely to improve for some time. | |
According to aviation data firm Cirium, 305 of the 10,662 scheduled flights due to take place over the Jubilee weekend were cancelled. | |
This was particularly challenging for some families who were trying to return to the UK in time for pupils to sit their GCSEs. | |
The industry now has less than two months to prepare for the crucial summer holiday period. | |
Companies will be able to recruit and train extra staff in this time, but Advantage Travel Partnership - a network of travel agents - said 30% of its members are already fielding calls from holidaymakers concerned about future bookings. | |
One advantage of the summer break is that the travel peak is not limited to a single week, as happens at half-term, so delays may not be as bad. | |
Cancelled flights fuel summer holiday fears | |
Are other countries having similar issues? | |
Disruption is not limited to the UK. | |
There have also been problems at other European airports because of staff shortages in recent weeks, including Amsterdam's Schiphol and also Dublin. | |
There were large queues at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on 4 June after KLM temporarily paused flights from other European destinations | |
However, Health Secretary Sajid Javid questioned why other major European countries like Germany and Italy hadn't seen the same scale of problems as the UK. | |
He said it was "about time the industry took some more responsibility for sorting its own challenges out". | |
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