Summer of discontent: Travel chaos worsens due to government inaction on Brexit

• Travel experts renew calls to government to add aviation to the shortage occupation list as sector faces ‘rocky summer’ 

• Commissioners hear how Brexit is exacerbating travel costs due to labour shortage 

• Aviation industry representatives highlight labour mobility as priority to addressing industry woes 

• Post-brexit red-tape accused of ‘killing’ the aviation industry 

Brexit is limiting the travel industry's ability to deliver ‘great service’ as it did in 2019, while consumers should expect to pay above the odds for summer holidays, experts have stated. 

In a public evidence session to MPs and business leaders this morning, a panel of trade and industry experts detailed how Brexit is leaving the travel industry in disarray ahead of the sector's busiest season, with labour shortages, red-tape and increased costs post-brexit leaving the sector struggling to meet demand and consumers facing price hikes. 

Witnesses reiterated desperate calls from the aviation industry to the government to add the sector to the shortage occupations list in order to plug labour shortages, warning that without government intervention consumer detriment will continue throughout the summer period and beyond. 

Due to Brexit, costs for British people travelling this summer will be disproportionately high, driven by a decrease in the size of the labour pool since 2020 and lack of labour mobility. Experts emphasised how Brexit red-tape has impacted every aspect of the travel industry, citing that airport baggage handling lines rely on up to 30% EU workers. Visa application categories lead to critical roles such as these, which are not classified as ‘highly skilled’, being resourced in the UK due to a shortage of people available to fill the vacancies. 

This evidence comes ahead of the travel industry’s first post-covid and post-brexit summer holiday season, leading to concerns across the industry that traveller confidence will waver when faced with an unreliable service. 

Simon Calder, journalist and travel expert, said: 

“There is an enormous amount of consumer detriment going on at the moment because of labour shortage and skills shortages. Aviation absolutely desperately needs to be added to the list of industries of which relaxed rules need to apply. 

“That doesn’t matter if it's the EU, or anywhere else, but we need people to deliver the great service we did in 2019 in the aviation industry.”

Luke Petherbridge, Director of Public Affairs ABTA, said: 

“Clearly the industry did ask for aviation critical roles to be added to the shortage occupation list but the Government wasn’t willing to do that so we would say there are visa routes that could be explored that would help to mitigate the challenges we’re facing. 

“For our part of the sector this is about labour mobility generally…it’s actually the ability to move staff in both directions between the UK and EU…we’re seeing very significant operational challenges putting on trips to Europe”

John Geddes, Head of Corporate Affairs Menzies Aviation, said: 

“We need a relaxation in immigration, for sure. We need the relaxation of immigration and freer movement of staff. 

“We as a global business need the ability to move people to make things better, but we just can’t do that. The UK doesn’t then benefit from our ability to do that. We could make things better, but we can’t.”

Nigel Milton, Chief of Staff and Carbon at Heathrow Airport, said: 

“About 10% of our direct employees today are from the EU…The points application system is still overly complex, visas are still expensive. 

“The visa categories don’t allow for some of the critical roles at the airport these roles such as security officers and baggage handling are not viewed as being skilled…they do require extensive training, they are key links in the chain, those sorts of roles…are most under-resourced….what we’re certainly seeing in the UK is that we do not have enough people available to fill the vacancies that there are.”

Hilary Benn MP, co-convenor of the UK Trade and Business Commission, said: 

“The travel industry should not be abandoned to deal with, on top of Covid, the costly and chaotic implications of the Government's half-baked Brexit deal.

“Industry experts have workable ideas to ease the pressures, and it is high time Ministers took note and acted on these rather than sit back and watch the sector continue to face problems throughout the summer and beyond.”