© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Travelers queue at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as an unannounced strike by ground staff led to many delays and cancellations, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, April 23, 2022. REUTERS/Anthony Deutsch
By Allison Lampert and Joanna Plucinska
(Reuters) – Global airports expect smoother travel this summer as staffing improves, but rising passenger demand during peak periods in Europe and North America could still lead to long lines, piles of luggage and flight delays said an industry group.
Airports, airlines and government agencies have been staffing up to avoid crippling labor shortages that reduced capacity and caused travel headaches last summer.
Global passenger demand is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels on most routes in 2023, adding pressure to a stretched industry.
“Indeed, the summer months are expected to be challenging at times for Europe, North America and some parts of Southeast Asia, as passenger load is expected to increase and reach levels in some places close to or even higher than 2019 levels,” said Thomas Romig, vice president. president of security, protection and operations of the airport business group ACI World.
Most airport executives gathered at a meeting of Airports Council International this week on France’s Reunion Island predicted that any summer disruption would likely occur during peak traffic periods rather than last the entire season, Romig said.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and others may be understaffed until the end of June, Air France-KLM chief financial officer Steven Zaat told reporters.
“Of course we are still affected by the fact that there are labor shortages everywhere, also at the airport… but we are gradually seeing operations return to normal,” he said.
The strikes could also affect airport operations in the coming months.
A 24-hour strike at seven German airports is expected to affect nearly 300,000 passengers on Friday, as union workers pushing for higher wages threaten a summer of “chaos” if their demands are not met.
French pension strikes have been ongoing in recent weeks, while UK border force strikes are expected to disrupt airports in the coming weeks.
Low-cost airlines easyJet (LON:), Ryanair and Wizz Air posted strong financial results in early 2023 on the back of very strong advance bookings. Analysts have said that customers are protecting their vacations despite rising inflation and recession fears.
Airports are already taking steps to prepare for high-season travel. Earlier this week, Schiphol said it was considering reducing the number of passengers it could take over the May holiday period by around 5%.
In Canada, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Friday he is taking steps to prevent a repeat of last summer’s gridlock at the country’s biggest airports, including submitting proposals this spring to strengthen the passenger bill of rights. air from Canada.
“The experience that Canadians saw last summer was really frustrating,” Alghabra told reporters in Montreal. “There are some vulnerabilities in the system that need to be addressed.”
Officials at Canada’s largest airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, were not immediately available for comment.
Montreal-Trudeau International Airport is adding services designed to slow down lines ahead of spring break, such as beefing up an online reservation platform that allows passengers to schedule a specific time to go through security checkpoints, Eric said. Forest, spokesman for the airport authority.
In the United States, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:) Co hope to restore their traffic to 2019 levels this year. Southwest, which faced criticism for an operational collapse in December, told a Senate hearing earlier this month that the airline would be able to operate its published flight schedules.
