Less than half of British travellers believe that the airline industry is ready for the busy summer getaway, and more than half of passengers who have been affected by disruption in the last few years say the experience has had a big impact on their future travel plans.
The survey was conducted by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as chief executive Rob Bishton encourages British airlines and airports to get their act together ahead of the summer getaway.
The CAA poll revealed that only 45% of British travellers believe the aviation industry is ready for the onslaught of families keen to escape the UK for a foreign summer holiday.
That low figure, however, might be explained by the fact that four in ten passengers polled said they had been impacted by some form of disruption in the last year, including delayed flights, cancellations and lost or damaged baggage.
More than half of travellers who had experienced disruption in the last year – 55% – said the experience had affected their future summer holiday plans.
Despite the UK leaving the European Union, the British government adopted its own passenger bill of rights that grants certain entitlements, including compensation, in the event of a significant delay or other disruption.
Unfortunately, around a third of travellers still remain unaware of these rights, according to the CAA survey of 1,000 British adults conducted earlier this month.
It’s widely accepted that the British aviation industry struggled to recover from the aftereffects of the pandemic, and many companies throughout the industry were still in a rush to hire enough staff during last summer’s holiday travel period.
Thankfully, staffing levels are pretty much back to pre-pandemic levels, and the disruption that many passengers endured in 2022 and 2023 shouldn’t be repeated this year.
Unfortunately, a strike by aircraft refuellers at Heathrow Airport over the May Day bank holiday might test the industry’s preparedness for disruption with the possibility of hundreds of flights being grounded if the walkout goes ahead.
The 72-hour strike was called by the Unite union on Monday over employment contracts for new staff at aircraft refuelling company AFS, which provides services to 35 major carriers at Heathrow, including the likes of Emirates and Virgin Atlantic.
