Feeble excuses for airport chaos
TRAFFIC and travel delays are to be expected in the holiday season, but chaotic scenes at airports show there has been abysmal planning by the authorities. Many holidaymakers are flying for the first time in three years and understandably the long queues at security have left them angry. The lack of trained employees, extra security and over-booked flights have created a perfect storm. Most frustratingly, this could and should have been avoided. The aviation industry has struggled to replace staff made redundant after travel was shut down during the pandemic. However, more effort should have been made to prepare for the predictable spike in demand. If we work backwards from the need for staff to be in place, there is a long process of recruitment, training and security clearance. There are additional complicating factors that are also a hangover from the pandemic. I was at Heathrow the other day and one airline company — which, ironically, is looking for a head of integrated planning (and it needs one) — announced passengers couldn’t request seat changes because all flights are fully booked for the following two weeks. In fact, they are over-booked: more people have been turning up to fly than they can handle as they have been expecting coronavirus-related dropouts. So the booking algorithm needs updating — and quickly. The chaos at airports, which could put people off flying and affect the airlines’ long-term profits, should serve as a warning to other industries. Investment in foresight and horizon scanning is essential to reduce the reputational and financial damage of bottlenecks. The ongoing problems at the DVlA are another example of wrong-headed thinking. There is a desperate need for HGV drivers to obtain driving licences, but the organisation is seemingly reluctant to invest in new staff to clear the backlog of applications. It caused outrage when P&O Ferries sacked 800 workers to replace them with cheaper staff to cut costs — another instance of poor long-term strategy. How will the travel experience change with poorly motivated, low-paid agency staff? Investing in customer experience should trump cost-cutting. I worry that other industries and firms may be sleepwalking into problems in these uncertain times. When it comes to making critical decisions, companies must not think in the short-term.