East Midlands Airport staff shortage 'the case across the country', Director says
Travellers are being told to remind themselves of the rules around flying
Travelers from Stamford and Rutland intending to fly from East Midlands Airport (EMA) any time soon are being told to properly prepare for flying.
It's to help make checking in bags and getting through security as efficient as possible, as there are significant staff shortages which could potentially make the departure process longer.
Those flying should arrive in plenty of time and make sure all liquids are appropriately stored in transparent bags and electricals are separated before going through security.
An industry-wide issue
East Midlands Airport's recruitment drive only saw 400 new staff join, whereas there would have been around 2,000 potential workers visit the job fair before COVID-19.
Lower worker numbers, coupled with a customer demand to get away nearing pre-pandemic levels sooner than expected, has created a strain for some airports.
EMA Managing Director, Clare James, says her industry was the first to be hit by COVID-19 and it's the last to recover:
"Notwithstanding the fact that we've got the 'missing million' that have left as a result of Brexit, the fact that our employment market is very buoyant at the moment, and the fact that our industry has been the last to recover, the combination of those three makes for quite a challenging environment."
"Across the country, I know colleagues in Dublin at the weekend were struggling, certainly Heathrow, we know EasyJet have cancelled flights, so this is industry-wide."
"There's security clearances that are required to get people in, there's quite significant training that's required, so it's not just a case of signing up for a job and the next day or the next week, you're ready to go. Security vetting can take three, sometimes four weeks."