The great ‘return to travel’ in 2022 was not the big break we’d been waiting for. “To say that last summer was a shambles would be an understatement,” says Ben Clatworthy, transport correspondent for The Times. With last-minute cancellations, huge airport queues and lost luggage, many passengers heading off on their first travels since 2019 faced problems at almost every turn. “Airports passed the blame: to the Cabinet Office, in charge of security vetting, and to ground handling companies. Airlines blamed just about everyone. And almost everyone across the aviation sector complained of staff shortages and blamed the tight labour market.”
So, what happens next? “Issues are already starting to ease,” says Clatworthy. “Airlines, airports and ground handlers have all managed to steadily increase their headcounts, getting new employees vetted, trained and onto rotas.” Pressure should also be eased during winter months which see lower traveller numbers. Will this allow travel companies time to recover?
The Passport Office experienced unprecedented demand, a staffing crisis and a backlog of 500,000 documents which caused record delays to passport applications and renewals last summer, but an ongoing recruitment drive looks set to ease wait times this year. Supply issues that beset hire car companies also look set to improve. Having sold off stock during the pandemic, limited car numbers drove prices up last year. But things look more positive for this
