As the peak European summer travel season sets in, destinations in the continent are bracing for an unanticipated travel load, and airlines and airport operators are preparing to manage the traffic. Airports have been alerting passengers of potential delays in travel plans, and airlines are beginning to cancel flights at key destinations. The issue came under the spotlight after a public fracas between London Heathrow Airport and Dubai-based airline Emirates, after the airport operator forced airlines to cut capacity so it could manage the unusually heavy traffic. Why is there a problem at European airports? When the Covid-19 pandemic emerged two years ago and the aviation industry was hit severely, airlines and airports handed pink slips to workers to reduce costs as flights remained grounded for a long time. However, with the pandemic receding, people have started travelling, and airlines have started mounting flights. But the airport staff wasn’t hired in line with the growing traffic. This, in addition to several airport and security worker unions at European airports going on a strike seeking better pay, has led to a severe shortage of labour causing disruptions in flight operations. Which destinations are affected, and what are the problems that have arisen? These issues have emerged at some of the top European airport hubs, including London’s Heathrow, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, Brussels airport, Frankfurt airport, and several others. The most visible problem is that of delayed baggage. As a result of labour shortage, passenger luggage is not being loaded onto aircraft on time, and several flights are departing without carrying their passengers’ luggage. In addition to this, airports are witnessing long queues that are causing passengers to miss their flights. Further, as per a Reuters report, the Port of Dover, which is the UK's main gateway to Europe, on Friday declared a “critical incident” over long delays, blaming French authorities for causing a bottleneck as holidaymakers look to start their summer breaks. Ferry operators warned passengers travelling to Calais that they faced delays of up to four hours at the start of what is typically one of the busiest periods of travel as schools break up for their summer holidays. What is the problem between Emirates and London Heathrow? On July 14, the Dubai-based carrier issued a strongly-worded statement, rejecting London Heathrow's demands for cutting airline capacity. “At London Heathrow airport (LHR), our ground handling and catering — run by dnata, part of the Emirates Group — are fully ready and capable of handling our flights. So the crux of the issue lies with the central services and systems which are the responsibility of the airport operator.LHR chose not to act, not to plan, not to invest. Now faced with an “airmageddon” situation due to their incompetence and non-action, they are pushing the entire burden — of costs and the scramble to sort the mess — to airlines and travellers,” the airline said in its statement. However, a day later, Emirates and LHR issued a joint statement announcing that they had arrived at an agreement, wherein Emirates agreed cap sales on its flights out of Heathrow until mid-August as it worked “to adjust capacity”.
