Heathrow to hire 12,000 staff for summer travel boom
Heathrow is to hire 12,000 staff to handle an expected summer holiday boom, the UK’s busiest airport has said, as it warned the recovery in the aviation industry is “being overshadowed by war and Covid”. Passenger numbers at the London hub were almost half pre-pandemic levels last month – and 15% below Heathrow’s own forecast – at only 2.8m passengers. “Aviation’s recovery remains overshadowed by war and Covid uncertainty,” said John Holland-Kaye, the CE of Heathrow. “But we need to ensure we are geared up to meet peak potential demand this summer.” Heathrow said that at the busiest times this summer it expects passenger numbers to reach 85% of pre-pandemic levels. But it said the airport would feel significantly busier than that because of additional pre-departure checks, and it needed to embark on a recruitment drive. “This is higher than current airline, handler and airport capacity,” Heathrow said. “So we are putting passengers first by gearing up across the airport for peak demand, working with airlines to reduce check-in times and recruiting 12,000 new colleagues, as well as reopening terminal 4 before July.” Heathrow added that it was “particularly concerned over Border Force’s ability to scale up to meet demand” for the summer crowds. Failures in passport e-gates as well as additional Covid requirements have at times caused long queues in the immigration halls. Its rival London airport, Gatwick, has also predicted a summer surge, with passenger levels returning to 85% of pre-pandemic levels.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-03-14/general/heathrow-to-hire-12-000-staff-for-summer-travel-boom
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
Heathrow to hire 12,000 staff for summer travel boom
Heathrow is to hire 12,000 staff to handle an expected summer holiday boom, the UK’s busiest airport has said, as it warned the recovery in the aviation industry is “being overshadowed by war and Covid”. Passenger numbers at the London hub were almost half pre-pandemic levels last month – and 15% below Heathrow’s own forecast – at only 2.8m passengers. “Aviation’s recovery remains overshadowed by war and Covid uncertainty,” said John Holland-Kaye, the CE of Heathrow. “But we need to ensure we are geared up to meet peak potential demand this summer.” Heathrow said that at the busiest times this summer it expects passenger numbers to reach 85% of pre-pandemic levels. But it said the airport would feel significantly busier than that because of additional pre-departure checks, and it needed to embark on a recruitment drive. “This is higher than current airline, handler and airport capacity,” Heathrow said. “So we are putting passengers first by gearing up across the airport for peak demand, working with airlines to reduce check-in times and recruiting 12,000 new colleagues, as well as reopening terminal 4 before July.” Heathrow added that it was “particularly concerned over Border Force’s ability to scale up to meet demand” for the summer crowds. Failures in passport e-gates as well as additional Covid requirements have at times caused long queues in the immigration halls. Its rival London airport, Gatwick, has also predicted a summer surge, with passenger levels returning to 85% of pre-pandemic levels.<br/>
