The easyJet boss has criticized the government’s refusal to allow more visas for cabin crew and ground staff in the EU, arguing that easing restrictions will ease pressure on aviation after weeks of travel chaos.
Despite widespread labor shortages and difficulties in recruiting for roles including airport security and ground handlers, industry demands for more EU nationals to fill gaps “is not something they have responded positively to Johan Lundgren said.
“We know that exceptions are being made to allow other groups of workers to come in, ballet dancers, circus performers, bakers etc, but not for aviation staff,” the easyJet chief executive said. “It would help if you could arrange the visa operation, of course it would ease the tension.”
However, he said it did not appear ministers were planning to change visa rules for the aviation sector. “It’s not something we’ve seen them feel inclined to do at this point.”
EasyJet said it was a challenge to find enough domestic staff to fill vacancies amid chronic labor shortages across the economy and as unemployment remained steady at 3.8% in June.
“The level of people that the whole industry is recruiting from has become less, partly because we don’t have the same amount of EU citizens,” Lundgren said. “In terms of the government, we will continue to work with them to ensure that the sector remains an attractive place to work and to make sure there are enough people left to recruit from.”
EasyJet said it was also facing problems on the continent amid a recovery in demand for overseas travel after pandemic restrictions were lifted, but added: “The problems here are bigger than across Europe.”
Lundgren’s comments came as the airline reported a £133m financial hit from air travel disruption between April and June, leading to a pre-tax loss of £114m for the second quarter of the year.
EasyJet has been one of the airlines hardest hit by the recent travel turmoil and canceled around 10,000 flights from its summer schedule in June.
Its chief operating officer quit last month after weeks of disruption and additional last-minute flight cancellations that damaged the airline’s reputation for reliability and customer service.
Lundgren said the airline’s day-to-day operations had “normalized” in recent weeks, adding that easyJet had operated more than 3,100 flights over the weekend, the start of the summer getaway for many families, and had not had to cancel a single flight in the UK flights during the day.
Sign up for the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk
Long lines for passengers, combined with flight delays and cancellations in recent weeks, have sparked a blame game between airports and airlines.
Lundgren said easyJet was discussing seeking compensation from airports such as Gatwick, which had tried to limit daily flights in a bid to cope with travel disruption.
“In terms of potential compensation, I mean that’s definitely something we’ll discuss individually with the operators and our partners,” Lundgren said, but declined to elaborate.
Add Comment