AFTA UPDATE

I AM out of country this week talking with a range of industry players on a number of issues, which will culminate in a meeting in Madrid with International Air Transport Association as a delegate of the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance to the Passenger Agency Programme Global Joint Council.

Before I get to Madrid, I have come via London for other meetings and have experienced the drama of a pilot strike first hand.

Arriving into Terminal 3 yesterday morning, the line for passport control was like a mob leaving a Rugby World Cup game lost by England.

After a lovely two hours I made it to immigration. Of course you don’t get stamped anymore, you just get a swipe and welcome, and to be honest, after nearly three hours for the privilege, it wasn’t great.

Many from the Australian travel industry can recall the drama of a pilot strike, and for our friends at BA, we can only hope the matter will pass and normality will return.

From the conversations going on within the corridors and terminals leading into the passport hall, people were not impressed, and as so often happens when a strike is called to make a point, it can backfire.

Time will tell what the outcome of this will be.

Meanwhile, the UK Prime Minister is meeting with the Prime Minister of Ireland to work to find a solution on Brexit.

It is a bit of a mess when you delve into what is happening with Brexit, as the political system appears to be doing all it can to not get a result, and even with the Prime Minister calling for a snap election, he got outvoted by the very Parliament which is not supporting the Brexit agreement.

If you feel confused, most people do; it is complex, and such an important time in UK history.

Being on the ground in London makes this all so much more real, particularly given today is the last sitting day of their parliament until late Oct, so it seems impossible Brexit is going to get resolved any time soon with a deal for the country and the EU, but it must, as the deadline is a hard deadline of 11pm GMT 31 Oct.

The next six weeks are going to be very interesting for both the UK and the EU.