European airports expect significant disruptions this summer

European airports expect significant disruptions this summer
Travellers at the Brussels Airport departure hall. Credit: Belga

Brussels Airport expects to have a busy summer as many countries have relaxed their Covid-19 restrictions and people are keen to travel again, reported Le Soir.

Yet Brussels is not the only airport expecting a summer of disruptions. Two-thirds of airports across Europe expect flights to be delayed, according to ACI Europe, the European trade association for airports.

Many airports are lacking employees as the travel sector was one of the most severely impacted by the pandemic. As a result, many people at airports lost their jobs.

Today, the industry is kicking off again and it appears ready to find new employees in time. Further to this, 16% of airports expect flight cancellations to increase and one-third predict that staffing issues will continue after the summer season.

In order to overcome staff shortages ahead of a busy summer, Brussels Airport launched a huge recruitment drive last week, with over one thousand jobs being offered.

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The pandemic changed travelling habits and made last-minute bookings popular. However, this trend appears to be less pronounced this summer as travel restrictions have been eased across many countries.

But the uncertainties don't seem to put people off travelling: more than three-quarters of Europeans have made plans to travel this summer, as demonstrated by a survey carried out by the European Travel Commission, a non-profit travel organisation based in Brussels which promotes Europe as a tourist destination.

Given the expected busy summer, on peak days Brussels Airport warns that there may be long queues, and urges passengers to arrive at the airport well ahead of their flights.


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