Travelers in the UK will be hit by a summer of travel misery, as the executive director of London Heathrow Airport warned that the aviation industry would take up to 18 months to return to pre- the pandemic and the largest railway union announced the biggest strike. in 30 years.
Thousands of tourists have been stranded over the past week with hundreds of flights canceled due to staff shortages and delays in air traffic control.
“I think it will take 12 to 18 months for the aviation industry to fully regain capacity, so we will have to manage supply and demand very carefully,” said John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow. , at the Financial Times Global Boardroom Conference.
The aviation industry cut tens of thousands of jobs during the pandemic and is now struggling to re-hire after demand for travel has recovered very quickly this year. Holland-Kaye said ministers could help by further easing rules on safety records and work history checks for new staff.
John Holland-Kaye: “I think it will take 12 to 18 months for the aviation industry to fully regain capacity” © Jason Alden / Bloomberg
Meanwhile, the UK rail network will be severely disrupted after the RMT union said more than 40,000 workers would be laid off for three days on 21, 23 and 25 June.
The union said the initial protests would “shut down” the entire network after failing to reach an agreement with infrastructure operator Network Rail and more than a dozen train operators. RMT leader Mick Lynch promised a “sustained campaign” of action, suggesting the union could announce additional strikes over the summer.
Industry leaders said that by stopping the stops, the railway network would also be severely affected on the days between the three journeys because staff would not have completed their shifts the night before.
“We’re essentially out for the week,” one executive said. The strike action is more damaging than the previous exits because it includes Network Rail signalers.
On the railways, priority will be given to freight during the strike to ensure that supply chains continue to operate, and long-distance services will have priority over commuter trains, according to people familiar with the industry emergency plan.
Airports are running to cover thousands of jobs cut during the pandemic
One train company said it expected to operate around 20 to 30 percent of its schedule on strike days.
“While we will maintain as many services as possible, unfortunately if this action goes ahead, a major disruption will be inevitable,” said Steve Montgomery, president of the Rail Delivery Group, an industry body.
The RMT is at the forefront of a “summer of discontent” that could also involve industrial action by two other railway unions, the TSSA and the Aslef. He said railway companies and ministers would have to put forward new proposals if they wanted to avoid “months of disruption”.
Unions are protesting against the multi-year wage freeze and the possibility of thousands of job cuts.
“Despite intense talks with railway officials, RMT has not been able to secure a salary proposal or a guarantee of non-compulsory dismissals,” it said in a statement. The union also announced a strike on the London Underground on 21 June.
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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the announcement was “incredibly disappointing” and warned that the action could derail passengers from the rail network just as it began to recover from the pandemic.
The RMT announcement comes amid growing industrial unrest as inflation erodes workers ’incomes and many employers are struggling to fill vacancies. The CWU communications workers’ union warned on Tuesday that a wage dispute in the Royal Mail could also lead to a vote on a national strike.
On Monday, 500 British Airways employees began voting on a consecutive pay strike, and the Unite union warned it would schedule any industrial action with the summer holidays to cause maximum disruption.
In West Yorkshire, some 700 bus workers, including drivers and engineers, have been on indefinite strike since Monday, demanding a 10 per cent pay rise for operator Arriva. As a result, services have been suspended.
Phil Brown, a regional official for Unit, said strike voting was now also taking place in response to Arriva’s pay offers in the north-west and north-east of England.