The Current Chaos in European Air Travel

Liz Morgan arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport four and a half hours ahead of her flight to Athens, only to find the security line extending out of the terminal and into a large tent along the road before looping back inside the main building.

“There are elderly individuals, children, and babies in the lines. No water, nothing. No signs, no assistance, no restrooms,” said Morgan, who is from Australia and had attempted to save time on Monday by checking in online and bringing just a carry-on bag.

People “couldn’t reach the restroom because if you stepped out of the queue, you lost your place,” she added.

After two years of pandemic restrictions, travel demand has surged, but airlines and airports that reduced their workforce during the COVID-19 crisis are struggling to catch up. With the busy summer tourism season in Europe underway, passengers are facing chaotic situations at airports, including long delays, flight cancellations, and issues with lost luggage.

Schiphol, the busiest airport in the Netherlands, is reducing its flight schedule, citing that there are thousands of airline seats per day exceeding the security staff's capacity. Dutch airline KLM issued an apology for leaving passengers stranded there this month. According to Ben Smith, CEO of the Air France-KLM airline alliance, it may take months for Schiphol to hire enough staff to alleviate the situation.

London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports are requesting airlines to limit their flight schedules. Budget airline easyJet is canceling thousands of summer flights to prevent last-minute cancellations and in response to caps imposed at Gatwick and Schiphol. North American airlines have urged Ireland’s transport chief to take immediate action to address the “significant delays” at Dublin Airport.

Almost 2,000 flights from major continental European airports were canceled in one week this month, with Schiphol responsible for nearly 9 percent of those cancellations, according to data from aviation consultancy Cirium. An additional 376 flights were canceled from U.K. airports, with Heathrow accounting for 28 percent, Cirium reported.

A similar situation is unfolding in the United States, where airlines canceled thousands of flights over a two-day span last week due to inclement weather, coinciding with the surge of summer tourists.

Despite the turmoil, travelers remain undeterred

“In most cases, people are still traveling,” said Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of the Advantage Travel Group, representing around 350 U.K. travel agents. However, she noted that airports are facing staff shortages, leading to significant delays in processing security clearances for newly hired personnel.

“These factors are causing bottlenecks in the system,” she added, noting that when issues arise, they tend to escalate significantly.

The Biden administration’s decision to eliminate COVID-19 testing for individuals entering the U.S. has provided an additional boost to the pent-up demand for transatlantic travel. Bue-Said mentioned that her group’s agents have reported an increase in U.S. bookings following the removal of this requirement this month.

For American travelers heading to Europe, the strengthening dollar against the euro and pound plays a role, making accommodations and dining more affordable.

Baggage claim resembles a “madhouse”

At Heathrow, a mountain of unclaimed luggage covered the terminal floor last week. The airport attributed this to technical issues with the baggage system and requested airlines to reduce flights by 10 percent at two terminals on Monday, impacting around 5,000 passengers.

The airport noted that “a number of passengers” may have traveled without their bags.

When cookbook author Marlena Spieler returned to London from Stockholm this month, it took her three hours to navigate passport control. Spieler, 73, then spent an additional hour and a half searching for her luggage in a baggage area that “was a madhouse, with heaps of suitcases scattered everywhere.”

She nearly gave up hope before finally spotting her bag on a carousel. She has another trip to Greece scheduled in a few weeks but feels apprehensive about returning to the airport.

At Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, security lines have been so extensive this summer that many passengers are arriving over five hours ahead of their boarding time. The influx is so significant that officials are now turning away travelers arriving more than three hours early to help alleviate congestion.

Despite some improvements, on Monday, the line at one checkpoint extended over 328 feet.

Four anxious young women from Germany, worried about missing their flight to Hamburg while waiting to check in their bags, asked fellow passengers if they could move to the front of the line. Once there, they purchased fast-track passes to bypass the lengthy security queue.

Nineteen-year-old Lina Wiele mentioned she hadn’t witnessed such a level of chaos at other airports, saying, “not like that, I guess,” before hurrying to the fast-track lane.

Root Causes of Airline Worker Shortages

During the pandemic, thousands of pilots, cabin crew, baggage handlers, and other aviation personnel were laid off, and now there aren’t enough workers to manage the resurgence in travel.

“Some airlines are facing challenges because they anticipated a quicker return to normal staffing levels than has actually occurred,” stated Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association.

The post-pandemic staffing shortage isn't limited to the airline sector, Walsh noted at the airline trade group’s annual meeting this week in Qatar.

“What complicates things for us is that many roles cannot be performed remotely, so airlines have been unable to provide the same flexibility for their employees as other companies,” he explained. “Pilots must be on-site to operate the aircraft, cabin crew need to be present, and we require staff to load bags and assist passengers.”

Laid-off aviation personnel “have secured new positions with higher pay and more stable contracts,” stated Joost van Doesburg of the FNV union, which represents the majority of staff at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. “And now that everyone wants to travel again,” workers are reluctant to return to airport jobs.

Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget airline, cautioned that flight delays and cancellations will persist “throughout the summer.” Passengers should prepare for a “less-than-satisfactory experience,” O’Leary told Sky News.

While some European airports haven’t faced significant issues yet, they are preparing for what’s ahead. Prague’s Václav Havel International Airport anticipates a surge in passenger numbers next week and into July, “when we might experience a shortage of staff, particularly at security checks,” said spokeswoman Klara Diviskova.

The airport is still lacking “dozens of staff members” despite an ongoing recruitment campaign, she stated.

Labor disputes are also contributing to the issues. In Belgium, Brussels Airlines announced that a three-day strike beginning Thursday will lead to the cancellation of approximately 315 flights, affecting around 40,000 passengers.

British Airways check-in staff and ground crew at Heathrow voted on Thursday to initiate a strike due to pay disputes. While no specific dates have been announced, their unions indicated it would occur this summer.

Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport experienced two days of strikes this month, one involving security personnel and another by airport workers who claim their salaries aren’t keeping pace with inflation. A quarter of flights were canceled on the second day of strikes.

Some Air France pilots are threatening to strike on Saturday, citing concerns that crew fatigue jeopardizes flight safety. However, the airline’s CEO, Smith, mentioned that disruptions are not anticipated. Additionally, airport staff are planning another salary-related strike on July 1.

Nevertheless, these airport challenges are unlikely to deter people from flying, according to Jan Bezdek, spokesman for Czech travel agency CK Fischer, which has sold more holiday packages this year than in the pre-pandemic period.

“What we observe is that people are eager to travel after the pandemic,” Bezdek noted. “Any issues at airports are unlikely to alter that desire.”