Are passengers again threatened by flight chaos in the summer?

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Many passengers have bad memories of last summer: Airlines had to cancel hundreds of flights because they had too few machines and too few staff. Inadequate security checkpoints caused passengers to miss their flights. And if passengers got to their destination, there was a good chance that their luggage would get stuck on the road. Because ground handlers like Swissport couldn’t keep up with their jobs. “There’s been a meltdown,” Swissport boss Warwick Brady (57) says in an interview with “Handelzeitung”. It is likely that many airports will reach their limits again this summer season. Easter queues at airports like Zurich were a small foretaste.

The situation should have improved, says Brady. But: “Of course, there will certainly be hotspots when it comes to labor shortages: in Mexico, the USA, but also in Great Britain, Australia and Asia. Things look better in Zurich.” Brady’s optimism is no accident: Airlines have managed to increase staffing and are offering more flights again. And according to Brady, Swissport also hired 37,000 people last year. But there’s still a shortage of staff. There are 800 vacancies in Switzerland alone.

Many suitcases still arrive late

Hiring remains a challenge: many ex-employees have moved into higher-paying industries. “We want to pay even more and we’re putting a lot of effort into that,” Brady says. But personnel costs make up 70 percent of the group’s total costs – and airlines are tough when it comes to price negotiations. That’s why you don’t have much room to move, according to the CEO. Poor staffing also causes problems for other ground handlers.

Therefore, anyone who flies long distances and changes planes on the way should continue to fear that their luggage will arrive late. “For transit connections via hubs, around 4 to 5 percent of luggage does not travel directly with the passenger. Even other centers are recording up to 16 percent. Of course that’s not possible,” says Brady. He recommends direct flights whenever possible.

«Swissport was a zombie company»

Staff missing today were laid off by Swissport during the Covid pandemic. The world’s largest ground handling company ran into serious financial difficulties and had to layoffs even more radically than many airlines. Swissport laid off several tens of thousands of people. “With the global air traffic crash and a nearly 70 percent drop in sales at the low end of the Covid crisis, Swissport was also a zombie company in urgent need of money. It was just about layoffs,” Brady looks back.

Brady joined Swissport as CEO in May 2021 amid the crisis. At that time the group found new owners and managed to recapitalize itself. The struggle for survival has been successful: “Swiss sport is strong and growing fast,” emphasizes the CEO. (smt)

Source :Blick