To ask IF this government have done enough to help aviation?

[mummsnetty]

With all the news of baggage issues, flights being cancelled, queues to check in and security the government response has been that they have done their bit.

Have they?

Did they but they should still do more now?

A lot of the overbooking is Tui and others hoping they can get and train staff and fill flights. They knew they couldn't staff them and they have known since before Easter. At least they aren't flying ghost flights with no people on them to save their spaces at the runway!

So not really any more the government can do at this stage aside from the furlough they have already done which was supposed to allow people to keep their jobs. What actual happened then, after furlough lots of cuts were made? Why? Travel was always going to come back with a vengeance!

I suppose the tour operators are the authors of their own misfortune then, especially given that they still seem to be selling for periods when cancellations are still being made.

It is not the governments job to help private airlines. If they can't run their business properly, let them go bust.

They paid furlough, the aviation companies still sacked their staff, short sighted management imo.

Not the govt fault ( for once)
Rather than furlough staff the airlines sacked them. Now they've been scrabbling to recruit. The back log has been getting their security checks done ( another private company).
I have little sympathy for the airlines it's the holiday makers I feel for.

No. This is down to the industry. They had huge subsidies to get them through Covid. If they sacked their staff to save money, then they should have recruited more in good time.

And perhaps the old staff don't want to come back because they've now got better jobs.

Not sure what the government could do to alleviate the situation.

The only thing the government could do is speed up checking, but given the roles the new recruits are to play, proper background checks are needed and take time.

Airlines previously making obscene profits made very bad decisions during the Pandemic, laying off more staff than they should have in order to continue paying dividends to their Shareholders.
Now the sudden return to almost pre-pandemic levels of foreign travel has caught them out, and large airlines are even having to “wet-lease” aircraft ( hire aeroplanes with crew) to operate!
Serves them right - they shouldn’t have been so greedy, and no, the Government shouldn’t be getting them out of this mess of their own making!

Airport workers left furlough and found other jobs, many with more sociable hours/ better work-,life balance. They don't want to return to the airline industry (also the fact that if Covid kicks off badly again, they will be in the same positio with job insecurity).

Maybe the airlines need to work out they will have to offer better hours/ shift patterns to attract workers,.

They knowingly booked more customers than they had staff to handle. Shot themselves in the foot really.

And now we hear that domestic tourism providers who are expecting loads of extra custom as a result of holidaymakers avoiding flights and holidays abroad, are upping their prices to cash in.

Pure greed. It's always about money.

The government could take steps to avoid a repeat in the summer and in the autumn half term by restricting the number of flights. Those who have failed and cancelled at short notice being the ones whose flights are restricted first.

The government could also ensure that where compensation or refunds are payable, they are paid within a short period of time. I had a ticket for a day at a cricket match with probably 10,000 sold, it did not take place as it finished earlier, money was in my bank account in three days. Airlines could be compelled to do the same.

So... private companies mismanage their staffing levels and you want the tax payer to rescue them so that some people don't miss out on their fortnight in Magaluf.

Nah, not feeling it.

Who me? No. I was asking the question to open up the debate.

The government are often (rightfully) blamed for a lot of things. In this case they've said they have done their bit and appear to be washing their hands in this sorry situation. My thoughts were that they had done enough during furlough and that it was greedy of the companies to let so many staff go. I don't usually agree with the government so was sense checking if others had the same view.

The post upthread about restricting flights and compelling early compensation is a fair point.

This is absolutely down to the airlines. I'd be livid if the government stepped in to mitigate their greed and stupidity, while doing nothing about the dire state of our public services.

@orwellwasright I don't want taxpayers rescuing them either, just regulations so they don't overpromise and fail to deliver. Customers getting a service, or not being offered it if it cannot be delivered.

There are far too many companies exploiting or ripping off customers and then trying to blame the government or use Covid 19 as an excuse.

I’m no fan of the government but this really isn’t their fault and no I don’t think there’s anything further they could or should have done - they (and we as taxpayers) paid billions in furlough.

They could take steps to prevent a repeat though.

this

Nothing to do with the government!

Op where's the 'debate' you wanted? Can't see what there is to debate

Why is it the government's fault?

For the past 6-9 months we knew that folk will want their holiday abroad this year and that covid wasn't going to be such a threat.
WHy didn't the airlines anticipate this?

You can't entirely blame an industry that has basically been unable to make money for 2 years being optimistic and ending up in this situation though. Yes it's been mismanaged horribly but you can see why the situation has developed.

Compared to other EU countries the government DID make it far more difficult than it needed to be with their inability to land on a consistent set of rules and slowness of response in providing support to the industry.

And it's all very well saying "let them go bust" but people rely on aviation for some many reasons do that is incredibly short sighted.

No country has had a consistent set of rules though, except eg new Zealand who fully shut borders. EU countries have been changing rules regularly.

I guess you have to balance the weight of helping x company vs the company being responsible for its success or lack of.

Dare I ask whether Brexit has any part to play in this issue and possible solution?

Were many ground staff European that no longer are able or inclined to work here?

I Understand your perspectives, but their are trains, other airlines, cars, more than one way or another, not the days of horse and cart

During covid we had many applicants from the local airport....for our retail jobs.

The former staff have settled into different jobs and are maybe reluctant to go back

Can't blame them!