The summer travel season in Europe has begun with chaos amidst a heavy influx of tourists and a solid uptick in travel demand. The rebound in international travel has swiftly surpassed pe-pandemic levels, with Europe emerging as a bustling travel destination. In fact, the recovery in air travel after the pandemic has been faster than what was expected by most aviation experts.
Speculations are rife that the rising demand for travel will continue throughout the summer, triggering the “revenge travel” wave further. To the uninitiated, revenge travel represents a huge surge in people wanting to make up for time and experiences lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After months of being locked indoors, most individuals are embracing incessant travelling as lockdown restrictions ease globally. As a result, large queues at airports and flight delays have become a common occurrence, especially across Europe. Moreover, fewer flights are operating across Europe, and the ones that do operate are flying with record price tags.
Why is there travel chaos?
The aviation industry has been facing a tough time since the onset of the pandemic, with Europe being especially hit hard. Although pandemic-related uncertainties have eased, airlines and airports are struggling to handle the unprecedented travel demand from the post-COVID population in Europe.
After the lockdown restrictions, pent-up travel demand and staffing problems have become the new normal. There are not enough staff to manage security, baggage checkpoints, and flight crews after the resurgence in travel for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, travellers are facing flight cancellations and long queues for hours at luggage collection and passport control at airports across the continent.
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The situation has become so worse that some airlines are advising travellers not to fly this summer. In fact, airlines have openly admitted that they are not able to support their flying schedules while struggling with the lack of staff and increased sick leaves due to the pandemic. The staff issues have been further aggravated by strikes of workers’ unions in various countries to protest against poor working conditions, pay cuts and layoffs.
Travel mistakes to avoid
Apart from some rookie mistakes such as taking overpriced taxis and skipping the smaller towns, travellers to Europe could make a whole new set of mistakes in the present climate. Travelling amid rising inflation can be challenging as operational delays can ruin the fun of the trip.
Thus, travellers should account for these delays and be prepared in advance. Staff shortages, worker strikes, and capacity issues might become recurring events across the European hospitality industry. So, it is important to be flexible while travelling and not make decisions in haste.
Experts fear that the problem may increase with time, requiring an even higher degree of patience from future travellers. Therefore, passengers should either opt to avoid the continent altogether until the travel situation has improved or have a backup plan ready for their trips.
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All in all, the ongoing travel chaos is unlikely to end anytime soon as passenger numbers are expected to increase above and beyond staffing capabilities during this summer season. Meanwhile, recruiting and training new staff can take time, with several positions less likely to be filled in time for this peak travel season.
SOURCE – KALKINE MEDIA
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