Executives in airlines and airports have spent the past two years trying to convince people that traveling is safe amid the Coronavirus pandemic. They also promoted how committed they are to precautionary measures, starting from social distancing on the plane to ventilation systems and filters like those used in hospitals. However, they did not realize the extent of the pressure they would face once travel resumed to normal.

According to Bloomberg Agency, airports are witnessing chaotic movements starting from Sydney, where travelers wait for long hours to check in, passing through chaotic scenes in India and Europe. The United Kingdom has also experienced weeks of disruption, culminating in massive chaos on Friday at Heathrow Airport after a catastrophic failure of the baggage system led to baggage pileups. German airline Lufthansa canceled hundreds of flights.

The aviation sector lacks sufficient labor to organize operations smoothly, even though the volume of travel demand after the summer is still unclear so far.

With countries reopening borders and easing restrictions after the pandemic outbreak, travel has rebounded so much that it has led to an unprecedented labor crisis. This crisis was exacerbated after hundreds of thousands of workers were laid off following the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, from pilots to flight crews and ground staff. Many of them no longer wish to return to work. But even if companies wanted to rehire, large-scale expansion poses a risk to airlines and airports amidst rising inflation and economic pressures that cast doubt on the sustainability of current demand.

For his part, Jeff Kolbier, CEO of Sydney Airport, pointed to the significant shortage of staff suffered by all airports and airlines, where nearly half of the workforce of 33,000 employees was lost, adding that the aviation sector is striving hard to rebuild and recover its employees, but working at the airport is no longer as attractive as it was before.

After laying off employees, many of them moved to pursue other less volatile professions, making it difficult to bring them back again. Changi Airport in Singapore is looking for 6,600 employees to fill security and catering positions. One company, such as Certis Group, offers a sign-on bonus of 25,000 Singapore dollars (equivalent to 18,000 US dollars), about 10 times the basic monthly salary, for a traffic assistant job to facilitate traffic flow and control crowds.

The severe shortage of staff, which will be a topic of discussion at the 78th Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association starting in Doha today, Sunday, has led to flight delays and cancellations causing great frustration for both airlines and travelers. The situation has become so bad that Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair Holdings Plc, requested help from the British army while Qantas Airways took measures to entice head office employees to volunteer at the airport during the peak holiday period in July.

For his part, Jens Ritter, CEO of Lufthansa, apologized in a statement published on LinkedIn last week for the flights canceled between Munich and Frankfurt, noting that many employees left the aviation sector during the pandemic and found jobs elsewhere. "Today, our partners in the sector such as airports and catering service providers are facing a severe staff shortage and are having difficulties recruiting new employees."

In this context, the necessary security clearances to work at the airport also hinder the recruitment process. British Airways has 3,000 job candidates still undergoing background checks. EasyJet has 140 crew members trained and ready but have not yet obtained checkpoint crossing clearance at the airport.

Based on this, alleviating the labor shortage may take up to 12 months, according to Izham Ismail, CEO of Malaysia Airlines. He said at a forum in Singapore this week: "We see this mainly and clearly in Europe, and we see it in North America, and we see it in Malaysia... I think the relevant parties and policymakers should cooperate among themselves to reach a solution to these issues."