Travellers using Manchester Airport could face long queues for 'several weeks'.
Bosses have admitted they are struggling with staff shortages after an increase in international travel since the coronavirus pandemic. Manchester Airport is about to start a major recruitment drive to help solve the problem, that has seen people queue for more than three hours to make it through security.
However, Karen Smart, the managing director of Manchester Airport, claims the recruitment drive could take weeks to remedy the crisis. Current staff are also struggling with the workload, with one employee telling the MEN things are 'diabolical' due to them being understaffed.
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Karen Smart said: "We want to apologise to all our customers who have experienced disruption over the last couple of weeks. We want to be clear with our customers that getting back to full strength is going to take time and there will unfortunately be periods over the next few weeks when it will take longer to get through the airport than it should.”
Staff have complained of ‘exhaustion’ and diminishing team spirit, one team member told the MEN : “It’s very understaffed at the moment, things are diabolical. The entire work environment is shocking. A lot of people were furloughed and made redundant.
"All the companies in the airport just got rid of far too many staff, everyone panicked during the pandemic. Now everything is picking up again, we can’t just get the staff back. There’s a lot of staff threatening to leave and a lot that have already left. We’ve just lost loads of staff - had many hand in notices in the last two weeks."
In previous statements, bosses at Manchester Airport blames an unexpected increase in travel and large number of bags being rejected at security for the long delays. However the new statement accepts there are also recruitment and staffing issues, it says: "The airport is experiencing staff shortages, as it seeks to meet rapidly increasing demand for international travel following the lifting of testing and quarantine requirements in mid-February."
Following a pandemic which led to more than 2,000 redundancies at Manchester Airport alone, bosses are struggling to employ and train staff fast enough to cope with the huge demand. Passenger numbers have doubled over the last two months, with 60,000 now travelling through the terminals every day.
What the airport is doing about the long queues:
The airport has begun a major recruitment drive to fill hundreds of roles in its security operation. Other firms, including airlines and ground handlers are on mission to recruit too. There are currently 400 recruits undergoing the training and security clearance process and the situation is ‘expected to improve’ through April as the workforce is bolstered.
In the meantime, the airport is holding a jobs fair in Wythenshawe on Thursday, looking to recruit ‘temporary’ staff from universities and ‘developing ways’ for the existing workforce to support operations. Karen Smart, managing director of Manchester Airport, said: "We want to apologise to all our customers who have experienced disruption over the last couple of weeks. We recognise passengers are really looking forward to getting away, and long queues are clearly not what they want to see when travelling through our airport."
What passengers can do:
Bosses say that many passengers have not travelled since before the pandemic and are ‘less familiar’ with the rules of what can be taken through security - leading to more manual searches and longer queues.
The airport asks that passengers arrive at the earliest time their airline allows them to check in, and to ensure they are aware of any road or rail disruption that could impact their travel plans. It also urged passengers to remind themselves of the rules on what is and isn’t allowed in hand baggage to help speed up security processing and reduce queues.
Ms Smart said: “We want to give customers the best possible experience when they travel through Manchester, and know people are excited to be flying again after such a long time.
“I want to reassure people that we are working hard to get back to where we need to be, and while queues may be longer than people are used to at times, customers can definitely help us by arriving in good time and ensuring they know exactly what they can and can’t take through security. I would like to thank all our colleagues for their dedication during this period of recovery.”
