British Airways has around 3,000 potential recruits stuck in background checks that are taking up to four months, it said at a parliamentary hearing into the travel chaos gripping UK airlines and airports. Appearing before the House of Commons transport committee Tuesday, executives from BA, EasyJet Plc and TUI AG provided details of staff shortages they say are to blame for the delays and cancellations. EasyJet said it has 140 crew trained and ready to go who don’t yet have the required airside passes. The airlines said requirements for five years of reference checks are also slowing down hiring, with many candidates having a rather more checkered employment history after the coronavirus forced them to take short-term roles. Aviation minister Robert Courts said he’s worked on the issue with the travel sector and that people will now be able to provide a letter stating their working history, rather than approaching each of their prior employers. While travel hubs across Europe have struggled to cope with an influx of vacationing passengers, the UK has been especially hard hit and airlines have faced accusations that they let go too many staff during the pandemic and have been too greedy in setting summer schedules. The school holidays and Jubilee weekend in early June saw long lines at airport security, leading to missed journeys, coupled with chaotic and potentially dangerous scenes as returning passengers sought to recover their own bags after they failed to appear on carousels hours after landing. Airlines have also canceled hundreds of flights in advance as they struggle to recruit.<br/>
oneworld
Europe's top aviation safety regulator said on Tuesday he had seen no evidence that paint or surface erosion on A350 jets, which are at the centre of a legal dispute between Airbus (AIR.PA) and Qatar Airways, represented a safety issue. The two companies are at loggerheads over the airworthiness of Europe's newest long-haul jet after damage to its protective outer skin exposed a damaged layer of lightning protection and prompted Qatar to ground more than 20 of the jets. Airbus, backed by the EASA, has acknowledged quality flaws with the jets at several airlines but denies that the problems amount to a safety risk, maintaining that there is ample backup lightning protection. Qatar Airways, backed by its own national regulator, which has ordered the jets to be taken out of service as the problem appears, insists that the safety impact cannot be properly understood until Airbus provides deeper technical analysis. In an unprecedented London court battle, it is pursuing Airbus for more than $1b in damages, with the value of the carrier's claim rising by $4m per day. On Tuesday, the head of EASA defended the agency's stance on the A350 when asked during a visit to the United States whether the long-haul aircraft's safety remained intact. "We have inspected the airplane. We saw no damage which could imply safety issues," Patrick Ky, executive director of the EASA, told reporters on the sidelines of an air safety conference in Washington.<br/>
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways expects a lower first-half loss than last year, driven by strong cargo performance and cost-cutting, the airline said on Tuesday, while warning that this year's loss would still be "substantial". Last year's first-half loss at the major Asian carrier was HK$7.57b ($964.34m), though it managed a surprise profit in the second half, thanks to strong cargo demand. Cathay said it had added capacity in the second quarter after Hong Kong eased some crew quarantine norms, but its May capacity figures had still amounted to just about 4% of the passengers and 34% of the cargo it carried before the pandemic. Hong Kong, like mainland China, is one of only a few places in the world that still requires hotel quarantine for arriving passengers in its fight to hold down COVID-19 infections. In May, Cathay's passenger numbers were 98% below 2019 levels."Our consolidated losses in the first half of 2022, while substantial, are expected to be lower than ... in the first half of 2021," said Ronald Lam, the airline's chief customer and commercial officer. Cathay would increase passenger capacity over the coming months as much as practicable within the confines of curbs as demand continues to improve, he added in a statement.<br/>
The aviation sector worldwide will likely continue to face a manpower crunch over the next six to 12 months, said the head of Malaysia Airlines. Izham Ismail, group chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, said Tuesday that the shortage of manpower has been apparent in Europe and within Asean, including in Singapore and Malaysia. "People are not attracted to come back to an airline environment, because first of all, airlines are very volatile," said Izham. "We retrenched people during the pandemic and (when) we try to call them back... they think twice." He was addressing industry representatives at a panel session during Aviation Festival Asia, held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. Izham said that, among other manpower-related issues, some workers have also moved into the gig economy. Thus, firms in the aviation industry and policymakers will need to work together to address such issues and attract workers to the sector, he said.<br/>