Edinburgh Airport warns of disruption ahead of travel surge

Edinburgh Airport has warned holidaymakers to expect queues and disruption over the summer as it returns to full service.

Its chief executive said the main reason was that staff numbers would not reach pre-pandemic levels in time.

The airport's operations were drastically impacted by restrictions over the last two years.

Passengers in 2020 and 2021 fell from nearly 15 million to three million, but are forecast to surge this year.

The airport has predicted numbers will more than treble in one year.

This growth, coupled with tough recruitment markets, has prompted the warning of disruption over the summer.

Chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, Gordon Dewar, said there may be other issues contributing to delays - including differing Covid entry requirements, security preparation and passengers returning to travel for the first time since the pandemic.

He said he would draft in staff from across the airport to help passengers get through the airport quickly and comfortably.

"We lost many valued colleagues and our recruitment campaign to employ 1,000 people across the airport has been under way since the end of 2021," he said.

"Not all of those additional people will be in place as quickly as we would like and therefore it is inevitable there will be some queues and disruption as the recovery begins and we take the first steps to normality.

"As we do that, we are grateful to passengers for their patience and understanding and ask that they allow themselves to carefully plan and understand what they need to do before they get here."

Aviation had a hard landing when Covid-19 struck. Much of it has been grounded for two years. This year, taking off again is proving bumpy as well.

Airlines are weighed down with enormous losses. It's surprising how few have gone under. But they're hiring again and starting or more often re-starting routes, helped by both passenger confidence and by eased rules for infection control.

Airports have also had to be nimble, meaning the shedding of much of their workforces. With a rapid return to business, they're struggling to get ready.

The pace of that return to flying is shown by the aviation data company Cirium, which says international flight bookings from the UK for the coming Easter weekend are up eight-fold on last year. They are only 17% below the passenger numbers on Easter weekend in 2019.

Finding staff to handle that surge is not easy. Former staff have moved on. The work often involves ground transport at unsocial times of day. Security staff need clearance, which can take months, and they need training. At least one ground-handling agency is threatened with strike action by its baggage handlers.

So Edinburgh Airport's warning is being sounded as it watches others struggle. Manchester Airport seems to be making the heaviest weather of it, with delays not only in getting through security but in offloading passengers and baggage on arriving aircraft.

Birmingham has had less severe problems. Heathrow has faced computer difficulties as well as staff shortages, with long delays at passport control.

Dublin has grown as a vital hub for British travellers - often because it avoids the UK's long-distance air passenger tax.

Of Britain's 30 biggest airports, Dublin is the leading destination for 10 of them, including Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Passengers arriving in the Irish capital are being told to turn up as much as three hours in advance to be sure of getting to their departure gates on time.

Adam Wilson, operations director at Edinburgh Airport, said passengers would be kept informed via social media, the airport website and emails.

He added: "We've drawn up a range of plans to deal with potential scenarios but unfortunately this may not avoid queuing at peak times.

"We clearly hope this won't be the case, but we think it's better to be honest and ask passengers to work with us to make the process as smooth as possible."