Airline Travel? Why The Chaos, Disruption, and Other Factors
One thing is for sure… air travel lately has been a disaster.
Can you imagine what it must have felt like to arrive at an airport looking forward to a holiday weekend only to be told your flight has been canceled?
More than 7,000 flights were canceled around the world leaving travelers stranded over the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend.
According to a website that tracks flights, FlightAware there The Memorial Day weekend flight cancelations were as follows: 1,580 flights were canceled Monday, followed by 1,640 cancellations on Sunday, 1,500 on Saturday, and 2,300 on Friday.
The airline industry is blaming all this chaos at airports around the world because of temporary delays in getting clearances for new staff and pilot shortages.
Our son is a young pilot for Delta airlines. Perhaps this carrier is regretting the fact that it offered early retirement to many pilots during the pandemic. Many took advantage of their offer.
Wondering whether Delta considers that a smart move now given the very serious problem of pilot shortages.
According to Reuters IATA director general Willie Walsh, the normal time to obtain security badges for newly hired staff used to be around three-to-four weeks, but the process is now taking up to three months in some areas, including the United Kingdom.
“The problem is, you can’t start the training until you’ve got the security clearance,” Walsh said. “You offer them a job, they accept it, and then you must go through this period of three months to get security clearance – they’re not going to hang around. They’ll go and find a job somewhere else.”
Another concern on the horizon for the airline industry is the impact of skyrocketing inflation resulting in lower disposable incomes resulting in less expenditure on travel.
How about the rising cost of fuel? Fuel is sure to have an impact on the increasing cost of air travel. Passengers can count on some big increases in ticket prices.
The worst part is that there is no way to predict which flights are canceled, and in many cases, this information is not forthcoming until you arrive at the airport.
Yikes…
