by Morgan Forbes (IG: @morganforbesart)
If you have recently found yourself in a UK airport, you may have turned to the news seeking answers to one burning question: why is it so busy? With queues reaching levels not seen since pre-pandemic times, travellers have been stuck in a standstill at check-in gates and waiting in security for hours longer than anticipated. Families have had holidays rescheduled or outright cancelled as airport staff have struggled to cope, and it seems the blame is constantly shifting — is it Brexit, COVID restrictions lifting, or simply a busy summer season? Furthermore, what can you expect if you have a getaway booked for the coming months?
In the last week, many British workers took advantage of an unusually long Bank Holiday due to the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. With most full-time employees entitled to a minimum of 28 day of paid holiday per annum, the first week of June proved to be a popular time for many to book a short break away in the sun, using a portion of their time off in addition to the public holiday. Additionally, with exam season coming to a close for many students across the country, the start of summer has always been a fitting excuse to travel. Many won’t experience the travel chaos for themselves until their children finish school for the academic year, and will see the prices of flights, accommodation and more soar in line with demand as the hotter weather rolls in.
Another phenomenon playing a part in the current travel chaos is ‘revenge travel’ (Lilit, 2022). While the word ‘revenge’ usually holds negative connotations, this trend looks to the positive side of things. As most of the world was out of bounds for holidaying in much of 2020 and 2021, travellers are trying to make up for lost time this year by travelling as much and as luxuriously as possible as restrictions ease. The ‘revenge’ aspect might refer to the thwarting effects of the pandemic, as many travellers (particularly young people) feel that entire years of their life have been drastically altered or in fact wholly taken away.
But while it may seem obvious to fault the travellers themselves, it has sometimes been the airlines with the issues. Budget airlines such as easyJet have struggled to handle a multitude of flight cancellations and serious delays, and this is clear to see on social media judging by their customers’ complaints. Additionally, just like at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been reports of companies handing out vouchers instead of offering refunds to travellers affected by disruptions. This has proved to be an unpopular solution, particularly amongst families who have been left stranded at airports with unwanted additional costs and stress. On a larger scale, Europe’s air traffic agency has warned of further disruption this summer as ‘the number of flights will exceed the capacity of control centres to handle them across large parts of the continent’ (Georgiadis, 2022).
Lastly, the blame could fall on simpler issues like staff shortages. As COVID restrictions lift across European nations, the impact the virus has on travel becomes less severe with each passing day. However, staff have been used to working from home or otherwise adapting to more flexible work schedules, and it has proved difficult for airlines to encourage their employees to return to the life they led before the pandemic. No matter the number of staff taking sick days off due to the Coronavirus or other illnesses, it’s clear to see the ratio of available staff to increasingly stressed customers isn’t as high as it used to be.
If you are looking to reduce travel stress this summer, there are certain steps you can take to make your journey smoother. While cancellations and delays are sometimes inevitable, making sure you have all required COVID documentation to hand will help speed along the airport process, as well as keeping luggage to the required weight and dimensions of the airline you’re flying with. You may wish to get to the airport even earlier than the usual 2-hour window usually advised (1 hour for domestic flights) to ensure extra time to deal with potential difficulties. Airlines like Ryanair may request you check-in online up to 24 hours before you’re due to fly; in these instances, make sure your boarding pass is downloaded or printed and ready to be scanned. Always check with the individual airlines and departure/arrival airports for up-to-date advice.
Edited by Charlotte Lewis (Editor-in-Chief)
Picture : Long ques at airports - Daily Express - Getty Images
Georgiadis, P. (2022). ‘More air travel chaos looms and UK rail passengers face prospect of disruption’, Financial Times [online]. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/9d9eb622-fcf6-4933-95b2-464c06ff3906 (Accessed 07/06/22).
Lilit, M. (2022). ‘Revenge travel: How vacation vengeance became a thing’, CNN [online]. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/amp/revenge-travel-explainer/index.html (Accessed 07/06/22).
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