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Rising demand and staff shortages lead to chaos at European airports

In Europe, summer arrived with high temperatures and tourists’ excitement to travel again. But all this movement has caused scenes of chaos at airports. Companies struggle to fill vacancies closed at the height of the pandemic. Other than that, there are strikes popping up at airports and at airlines on the continent.

And as many people are wanting to travel, problems are inevitable. At Heathrow Airport, dozens of bags are seen piled up after the owners have boarded.

A similar situation was experienced by lawyer Maurício Portugal Ribeiro, who landed on a British Airways flight this Thursday (30th) in São Paulo, and only after disembarking discovered the worst: no luggage was loaded, all bags were left In London.

“The plane left a little late, an hour late. The boarding was a little confusing, but nothing that didn’t seem like a disorganization by British Airways, a company that is expected to have some organization. People were getting off the flight when they communicated. Some people understood it and some people didn’t, because they announced it in English. And that feeling of surprise, huh? Because how come you don’t warn something like that before? They made the decision to leave without anyone’s luggage and without notifying passengers,” explained Ribeiro.

wanted by CNN British Airways apologized for the incident and said it was doing its best to return luggage to passengers as soon as possible.

The biggest problem seems to be in the UK. That’s why the British government recommended airlines, even before the European summer began, to reduce the number of flights in advance – anticipating problems.

Now, the British government promises to help. According to today’s announcement, laws to accelerate hiring will be relaxed; a platform to recruit and train employees for airlines will be implemented, as well as a loan program for commercial airports.

Companies wanted more: they asked for a review of the Brexit migration policy to hire labor from other countries.

As the crisis drags on in Europe, the CNN spoke with the director of security and operations of the Brazilian Association of Airlines (Abear), Ruy Amparo, to understand if the scenario can be repeated in Brazil.

“In some cases, the airlines are without crew, without ground staff, the companies that carry the bags are without staff. So you are giving a very big headache to both the companies and, mainly, to the end customers. From there to here, we may have the headaches that we are seeing on some flights, some planes arrive not with all their luggage, but, from here to there, we are not having this problem,” he said.

And for those who have already faced or may face this chaos, if they are going to travel to Europe and then return to Brazil, the specialist in consumer protection, Maria Inês Dolci explains what can be done.

“First, look for the company to have this information in writing. If the problem is not resolved, because there is a deadline that companies have to return these bags. It takes 30 days to find and return the luggage, otherwise the consumer can ask for compensation”, detailed the specialist.

Source: CNN Brasil

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