Airports around the world may expect a smoother travel season this summer in the Northern hemisphere thanks to more staff, but there is still a mountain to climb because of the unleashing of pent-up demand for travel.
Airports Council International (ACI World) warns that peak travel seasons in Europe and North America may well bring back long lines, piles of baggage and delayed flights again.
Revenge travel looks set to take off this year, as the International Civil Aviation Organization agrees that passenger numbers should recover in most markets this year.
Most airport executives at an ACI World meeting last week on Réunion, forecast that any summer disruption was likely to be during peak traffic periods rather than run for the entire season, said Thomas Romig, VP of Safety, Security and Operations at ACI World.
Airports might not have enough staff until the end of June, Air France KLM CFO, Steven Zaat, told Reuters. "We are still impacted by the fact that there are labour shortages everywhere, also at the airport ... but we see that gradually, operations are actually back on track."
Airports themselves are already taking steps to prepare for upcoming travel demands, such as Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, which is continuing its passenger cap into the spring school holidays in Europe.
Strikes could also affect airport operations in the months to come as well.
Across the pond, Canadian Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, said he was working to avoid a repeat of last summer’s airport chaos. “The experience that Canadians saw last summer was really frustrating,” he told Reuters. “There are some vulnerabilities in the system that need to be addressed.”
