Beijing, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Recently, many European aviation operators have frequently cancelled flights due to lack of personnel on duty, bad weather and other reasons, and some airline and airport employees have gone on strike due to unbearable work intensity or dissatisfaction with salaries, which has increased uncertainties in the operation of the European civil aviation industry.
Due to salary disputes and other reasons, some crew members of Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair in Belgium, Spain and Portugal have gone on strike from the 24th, which will last for 3 days, dozens of flights have been cancelled as a result, and hundreds of flights are expected to be cancelled.
Ryanair chief executive Michael Orlyrie told Sky News that flight delays and cancellations in Europe would "last all summer" and that passengers should be mentally prepared for a "below-satisfaction (travel) experience".
This is a profile photo of an Ryanair flight arriving at Zaventem Airport on the outskirts of Brussels, Belgium, on April 19, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
Some Ryanair employees in France and Italy announced a strike on the 25th and 26th, and its crew in Spain said they would strike again for three days from June 30 to July 2.
The pilots and crew union of Brussels Airlines in Belgium began a strike on the 23rd, which is expected to last for 3 days. Brussels Airlines cancelled more than 300 flights as a result, affecting around 40,000 passengers. Brussels Airlines employees complained of a heavy workload and a deteriorating working environment.
In addition, British Airways ground staff working at London Heathrow International Airport decided on the 23rd to strike this summer for pay reasons, and the date has not yet been determined. France's Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport has already seen two strikes this month, the second of which canceled a quarter of flights that day. Some Air France pilots said that the fatigue of the crew has affected flight safety, threatening a strike on the 25th.
On 8 June 2020, a British Airways plane prepares to land at London Heathrow, England. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Tim Ireland)
Lufthansa, the parent company of Brussels Airlines, said on the 23rd that due to manpower shortages, 2,000 flights from Frankfurt and Munich airports will be cancelled in July. The company cancelled 900 July flights two weeks ago.
Lufthansa explained that there are many reasons for the cancellation of flights, including the continuous increase in employees who have taken leave due to the new crown virus, the strike of civil aviation security personnel, and bad weather.
Inflation in the eurozone has been climbing above 8 percent, with inflation in the United Kingdom reaching a 40-year high of 9.1 percent, and some Central and Eastern European countries even reaching double digits. The sharp increase in prices this year has greatly increased the cost of living for ordinary people. ECB President Christine Lagarde has warned that the longer inflation remains high, the greater the impact on wage negotiations between labor and management.
This is a euro sculpture photographed in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 1. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Yang
Speaking about strikes and labor shortages, IATA President Willy Walsh said some air carriers have gone too far to regain the number of employees on duty, and their capabilities have not been reached.
Walsh said at the annual meeting of the industry held in Qatar a few days ago that many industries are facing labor difficulties, but the difficulty of the aviation industry is that many types of work cannot be remotely worked, and pilots, flight attendants, baggage packers and other people must appear on the spot, so that because of the small number of available personnel, the frequency of employee shifts has increased, and the flexibility of attendance has decreased, affecting the operation of some airlines.
Walsh said airlines need to recognize that they can't quickly fill the manpower gap and need to adjust their capacity levels for some time to come. In fact, some airlines are already starting to do just that. He believes that the labor shortage only occurs in some airlines and airports, and will not affect the entire international aviation industry. (Guo Qian)