Trade hopes for incident-free weekend Ian Taylor


Airlines, airports, agents and operators were hoping the first weekend of the summer peak in England and Wales would pass without major disruption to departing passengers. But the heatwave across Europe


risked damage to runways and a planned three-day strike by aircraft- refuelling workers at Heathrow threatened a fresh round of delays, despite the airport capping passenger numbers last week and carriers cancelling thousands of flights. Luton airport was forced to


temporarily suspend flights on Monday, as a result of the runway surface melting.


A strike by Aviation Fuel Services


(AFS) workers, responsible for refuelling half of non-British Airways traffic at Heathrow, was due to begin at 5am on Thursday and run through to Sunday, affecting Emirates, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines flights. The Unite union warned of “severe disruption” after AFS workers rejected a 10% pay offer. Heathrow was hoping for an


improvement in operations this weekend, despite the strike threat. But it acknowledged that ground- handlers have only 70% of the staff they employed in 2019 to handle 85% of the traffic. An aviation source warned: “There


will be problems. Heathrow still has issues. The risk is that this weekend


‘Manage clients’ expectations in overseas resorts’


Juliet Dennis


The trade is being urged to work with suppliers and manage customers’ expectations amid fears service levels in overseas resorts could be affected by the global recruitment crisis. Bharat Gadhoke, head of


commercial at The Specialist Travel Association (Aito), urged travel firms to flag any concerns, adding: “It comes down to being open and honest with customers, and managing expectations.” Abta director of industry relations


Susan Deer said solutions could be agreed with suppliers in order to


4 21 JULY 2022


minimise the impact on consumers. The Advantage Travel Partnership


chief commercial officer Kelly Cookes said: “Any possible drop in service is a concern, but so far, this is not leading to complaints.” “A few” members have reported


feedback from clients citing a dip in hotel service levels, she said. Sunvil managing director Chris


Wright said the issues overseas were already being ironed out. “We’ve had situations where not all of the restaurants are open in Italy and Portugal, but it seems to be resolving itself now,” he said. “Everyone is struggling for staff,


The government


wants to wave a big stick at the industry, but it is doing nothing


becomes a shitshow. Then there will be more pressure on the airlines. “We’ve probably seen all the


advance cancellations. But we’ll see more media coverage [of disruption] over coming weeks. There is a narrative of disruption, with the media finding stuff that fits it.” The source added: “There has


been a different problem every holiday [period]. The government wants to wave a big stick at the industry, but it is doing nothing.”


Another source said: “Rebuilding


the industry from 20% to 80% capacity was never going to be easy. We will still see some issues.” The fallout from previous


disruption continues to reverberate. Edinburgh airport suspended its helpline following abuse of its staff by people trying to locate lost baggage. The problem dates from the half- term holidays, when ground-handling delays at Edinburgh saw aircraft depart without hold bags. A source said: “Ground-handler


Swissport has been working through a backlog of luggage in a warehouse near the airport, after a significant number of bags were not loaded on


to flights. It’s a legacy of weeks ago.” i Heathrow passenger cap, page 56


Agents should be honest with customers about expected service levels


but most are working hard with the staff they have to try to deliver a seamless service.” Many hotels opened with reduced


capacity following the pandemic in an attempt to minimise issues for customers and allow time to recruit and train staff. Atlantis The Palm, in Dubai, is


keeping room occupancy levels at about 80% capacity to ensure high standards of service. Speaking at the Aspire Leaders of


Luxury conference, the hotel’s vice- president of sales, Kyp Charalambous, said: “Every resort has the choice. “Do you push the envelope and


go to 100% occupancy, or do you have a level that is sensible for the customer experience to be the best? “We are content at 80%-81%


occupancy, to ensure we deliver the service that is now expected over and above previous years.” Other hotels that are fully open


told Travel Weekly they do not anticipate service issues. Constantinou Bros Hotels has


four properties in Paphos, Cyprus, and hosted more than 120 agents on educationals last year. UK sales and marketing manager Mark Richardson said: “We are fully operational and everything is open.”


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Shutterstock/Kardasov Films


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