Got European travel plans this summer? Don’t forget to pack your passport, sunscreen and plenty of patience. Know more:
LONDON—Got European travel plans this summer? Don’t forget to pack your passport, sunscreen and plenty of patience.
After two years of pandemic restrictions, travel demand has roared back, but airlines and airports that slashed jobs during the depths of the Covid-19 crisis are struggling to keep up. Nearly 2,000 flights from major continental European airports were canceled one week this month, with Schiphol accounting for nearly 9 percent, according to data from aviation consultancy Cirium. A further 376 flights were canceled from UK airports, with Heathrow accounting for 28 percent, Cirium said.
For American travelers to Europe, the dollar strengthening against the euro and the pound is also a factor, because it makes paying for hotels and restaurants more affordable. “Frankly, I am frightened for my well being. Am I strong enough to withstand this?” Spieler said by email.IN Sweden, lines for security at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport have been so long this summer that many passengers have been arriving more than five hours before boarding time.
Lina Wiele, 19, said she hadn’t seen quite the same level of chaos at other airports, “not like that, I guess,” before rushing to the fast-track lane. Laid-off aviation workers “have found new jobs with higher wages, with more stable contracts,” said Joost van Doesburg of the FNV union, which represent most staff at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. “And now everybody wants to travel again,” but workers don’t want airport jobs.