Speaking out after chaotic scenes at Schiphol Airport this week – along with hundreds of cancelled flights in the UK and Ireland over Easter – ACI (Airports Council International) Europe says a lack of financial help during the pandemic is to blame for understaffing at major hubs.

Airports across the continent have been struggling to keep up with the sudden influx of passengers as more and more countries drop their Covid entry restrictions.

Although air travel is still below 2019 levels, traffic peaks are in fact higher than pre-pandemic levels at many larger airports.

“Coping with this sudden increase and concentration of air traffic has been challenging for airports and their operational partners – in particular ground handlers,” says the joint statement from ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec and Fabio Gamba, MD of ASA (Airport Services Association).

“This has resulted in an increase in flight delays and cancellations, and more generally a degraded passenger experience at many airports.”

For those hoping to escape the chaos over the summer, the airport trade association has some sobering news from its recent survey. 66 per cent of Europe’s airports expect flight delays to increase.

So what exactly is behind the Europe-wide delays, and where will the solutions come from?

What is causing the chaos at Europe’s airports this spring and summer?

Passengers experienced long queues at Manchester Airport over the Easter weekend.@BhChillin76

While each airport is unique, the underlying reason for delays has been “the impossibility of scaling up staffing” to the required levels, Jankovec and Gamba say.

Airports and ground handlers are emerging from the pandemic with depleted numbers, as they were “forced” to lay off staff when air traffic collapsed in 2020.

UK and Ireland aviation union Unite has previously criticised the aviation sector, saying it warned bosses “not to use the cover of Covid to slash jobs and pay.”

Now ACI Europe says, “The fact that airports and ground handlers received far less financial aid than airlines and that such aid came rather late was a significant contributing factor to their weakened operational capabilities.”

EU+ airlines (including Iceland and Norway) received €37.5 billion in financial support from governments compared to €4.9 billion for EU+ airports and €650 million for EU+ ground handlers, according to the group’s calculations.

It agrees with Unite that poor pay and working conditions – including working Monday-Friday without a break – are making it tricky to re-hire airport staff.

Notoriously long security vetting times of up to 16 weeks also make it “impossible” to quickly adapt and deploy people, the statement says. In a move to speed up recruitment in the UK, the government announced plans to allow new employees to begin training before the checks are complete.

How can Europe’s airport problems be fixed?

Given the systemic understaffing issues, most airports – especially bigger ones – expect that the quality of passenger’s experience will be “unavoidably affected” this summer.

There’s one note of optimism in the new survey, however. Though two-thirds of airports foresee flight delays increasing, only 16 per cent expect flight cancellations to rise too.

But in a sign of how much work remains, 35 per cent of European airports said they expect the airport and ground handling staff crunch to affect their operations beyond the summer season.

“Airports and ground handlers are leaving no stone unturned as they strive to overcome these challenges,” say Jankovec and Gamba, admitting that “short-term, there is no quick and easy fix.”

How do airlines and airports work together – and is it working?

One measure the industry heads are calling for – alongside quicker security clearance for staff – is better communication from airlines.

They’re asking carriers to adapt their schedules to reduce traffic peaks and return unused slots as early as possible. Notifying airports at least three weeks before scheduled flights will help managers to maintain appropriate staffing levels.

The post Delays inevitable at most of Europe’s airports this summer first appeared on Magazin Haber Ajansı.

The Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 was heading towards JFK airport and was only 40 minutes into its journey on Monday 2 May, when the pilot was found out. Passengers were safely returned to Heathrow after the ‘first officer’ co-pilot, told the captain he had not yet completed his final flying test.

He had joined the company in 2017.

The mistake was described as a “rostering error” by an airline spokesperson, as the flight was forced to do a u-turn over Ireland.

“The qualified first officer, who was flying alongside an experienced captain, was replaced with a new pilot to ensure full compliance with Virgin Atlantic’s training protocols, which exceed industry standards,” Virgin said in a statement.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers, who arrived two hours and 40 minutes later than scheduled as a result of the crew change.”

A Virgin Atlantic plane on the tarmac.Tanya Moutzalias/AP

Passengers were left feeling angry following the incident, which had a knock-on effect for other flights and connections.

“It was embarrassing for everyone and the passengers were furious,” a source told The Sun.

The UK’s aviation watchdog, the Civil Aviation Authority, said it had been made aware of the incident. “Both pilots were suitably licensed and qualified to undertake the flight,” it added.

The post Plane forced to do a u-turn over Ireland as pilot unqualified to fly first appeared on Magazin Haber Ajansı.

After five years of planning, the airline said it was ordering 12 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to operate the “Project Sunrise” flights to cities including London and New York.

Non-stop flights will start from Sydney by the end of 2025, it said, with long-haul trips later planned to include Melbourne.

“New types of aircraft make new things possible,” said Qantas chairman Alan Joyce, according to a statement.

“The A350 and Project Sunrise will make any city just one flight away from Australia,” he said.

“It’s the final frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance.”

How long does the longest non-stop passenger flight take?

Qantas operated research flights for the long-haul route in 2019, including a trial London-Sydney trek of 17,800 kilometres, which took 19 hours and 19 minutes.

A trial New York-Sydney flight in the same year covered 16,200 kilometres and took a little over 19 hours.

Singapore Airlines currently operates the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight from Singapore to New York, covering 16,700 kilometres in a little under 19 hours.

Qantas already operates a 14,498-kilometre Perth-London trip that takes 17 hours.

What will the plane for the long-haul flight from Sydney look like?

“As you’d expect, the cabin is being specially designed for maximum comfort for long-haul flying,” Joyce said.

Qantas said the new A350 aircraft would be configured for 238 passengers with first-class suites offering a separate bed, recliner chair and wardrobe.

It promised spacier economy sections and a “wellbeing zone” designed for “movement, stretching and hydration.”

At the same time, Qantas confirmed it was also ordering 40 A321 XLR and A220 aircraft from Airbus. In addition, it bought options for another 94 of these planes until the end of 2034.

“The A320s and A220s will become the backbone of our domestic fleet for the next 20 years, helping to keep this country moving,” Joyce said.

The newer aircraft would reduce emissions by at least 15 per cent if running on fossil fuels, and more if using sustainable aviation fuel, he said.

The impact of the pandemic on the aviation industry

“We have come through the other side of the pandemic a structurally different company,” the airline boss said.

“Our domestic market share is higher and the demand for direct international flights is even stronger than it was before Covid.”

Qantas said the total cost of the deal was a matter of commercial confidence, though it indicated it had obtained a significant discount on the standard price of the aircraft.

The A350-1000 planes will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 turbofan engines, designed to be 25 per cent more fuel efficient than the previous generation of aircraft, Qantas said.

The post Qantas to launch longest non-stop passenger flight first appeared on Magazin Haber Ajansı.