The Government has got plenty wrong but it is not to blame for travel chaos

SIR – The aviation and travel industries took plenty of government money and ruthlessly sacked staff during the pandemic. Now they have completely misjudged the situation and over-sold tickets when they must have known that they could not fulfil their obligations. Their response to this fiasco is to blame the Government.

It has got plenty wrong lately, but it is not to blame this time.

Mick Ferrie

Mawnan Smith, Cornwall

SIR – In 2020, the airline industry was losing millions a day and there were dire warnings about the length of time it would take people to return to air travel. As it happens, demand has returned faster than anyone predicted.

The politicians who implemented draconian travel restrictions during the pandemic – crippling the sector – are now complaining of chaos at airports and mismanagement by airlines (report, June 1).

State-imposed regulations, vetting and referencing checks mean you cannot just switch an airline or airport back on overnight. The aircraft that have been in storage for two years also require testing and servicing before they can fly again. It will take time for the industry to return to normal.

SJ Pritchard London SW18

SIR – An airline’s flight operations director is required by the Civil Aviation Authority to show that they have sufficient crew – flight deck and cabin – for scheduled flights. It is also incumbent on them to show proper planning of ground handling agents and other staff. It is therefore a bit rich for airlines to blame others if they have scheduled more flights than they have crew or ground staff for.

Geoff Hughes

Andover, Hampshire

SIR – On Wednesday morning I heard an airport executive claiming on TV that the flight cancellations in the UK were exacerbated by Brexit because airlines’ EU employees went home.

That same evening, a travel expert said that not only was the true flight cancellation figure just 2 per cent, but also that this situation had been replicated across the whole world.

Despite the Covid pandemic, Remainers are still determined to blame everything on Brexit.

Jim Sokol

Minehead, Somerset

SIR – It should come as no surprise to anyone that airlines are having problems recruiting staff. We have grown accustomed to very cheap flights and have seen airlines compete to offer ever-lower prices. The resulting low margins have meant that it has become difficult to hire staff in a very competitive labour market. Peter Little

Herne Bay, Kent

SIR – I wonder how many of the staff at the travel companies responsible for this chaos are working from home? JM Kearney Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire