Europe's Travel Rebound Wobbles

A staffing crisis at airlines, airports, and even the Chunnel left some operators overwhelmed

- Christopher Jasper and Siddharth Philip

European travel businesses have been eagerly awaiting the scrapping of border curbs since the pandemic started. Now that restrictions are lifting, they’re creaking under the strain of surging demand.

Delays and cancellations at airports, turmoil at ferry ports, and issues with trains connecting Britain and France have turned the exodus from northern Europe to the sunnier south into an obstacle course for millions of tourists. Staff shortages have been the chief trigger for the chaos, with companies that dismissed workers or lost them to other sectors during the Covid-19 crisis struggling to make up the gap as bookings have rebounded.

Carrier disruptions at Easter, the start of Europe’s main travel season, were so widespread that airlines are now looking toward the summer peak with trepidation about their ability to cope with higher passenger loads. Some have cut schedules, especially in the UK, where hiring at companies including British Airways has proved particularly tough. That limits their ability to tap the vacation boom ahead of what may be tougher economic times later in the year.

“It’s a setback for carriers such as BA and EasyJet to be forced to pare down capacity and not be able to cash in fully on the massive pent-up demand this summer,” says aviation analyst John Strickland of JLS Consulting.