Airport chaos in Europe after corona redundancies – Oslo is praised – VG
Several major airports in Europe are struggling with long queues due to staff shortages following the corona crisis. Oslo Airport is praised by Swedish aviation expert.
A number of airports around Europe had to lay off people due to the restrictions and the large drop in travelers during the corona crisis.
The consequences are now long queues at security and passport control at a number of the largest airports in Europe, including in our neighboring country.
At Arlanda Airport in Sweden, they struggle with long queues and staff shortages.
The Swedish employers’ organization Transportvirksomheden therefore demands an urgent meeting with Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson (S).
– If you do not get more faster, then it will be a very worrying summer at Arlanda, says Frekdrik Kämpfe in the organization to SVT.
Long queues in several places
Due to major control issues, KLM has recently restricted ticket sales from Amsterdam Schiphol.
Until Sunday, flights can only be booked very sporadically, writes NTB.
The goal is for more available tickets so that passengers who do not catch the plane due to long queues can take the next plane instead.
I add encouraged travelers regardless of being encouraged to meet a full four hours before departure. In Copenhagen Kastrup, there have also been long queues.
In the UK, Heathrow and Stansted in London report long queues at passport control, according to Evening Standard.
Boasts of Oslo Gardermoen
The Swedish aviation expert Jan Ohlsson tells SVT that the queues in Oslo have been even shorter for more of the European airports.
He points to Norwegian redundancy rules to explain the difference.
– This has been handled differently in different countries. Sweden lacks employees. Here they have been forced to fire people, while in Norway they could lay off and keep people. That is probably the reason why the queues are shorter at Gardermoen even at Arlanda, says Ohlsson to the channel.
He stressed that changing travel patterns after the pandemic also affect which airports are experiencing the greatest pressure.
The number of business travelers has decreased. I add that there have been more people traveling with low-cost airlines that have many packages as hand luggage, which means that people spend more time through the security check and sink the queue.