In both the U.S. and Europe, air travel is kicking up after two years of pandemic, and that’s causing massive delays at some airports, and cancelled flights at some airlines because of pilot and crew shortages.
Europe’s airport trade association ACI warns that two-thirds of Europe’s airports expect or are already experiencing flight delays due to lack of ground staff and in some cases, a significant number of passengers have been left on the ground in the airport, waiting for clearance while their flights depart. Delays have already been a major headache at Dublin, Brussels and Schiphol.
In the U.S., airports have not suffered that kind of crush, but airlines have had to cut flights and routes due to staff shortage, especially pilots. The pilot shortage is especially acute for America’s feeder airlines such as Republic and SkyWest, which fly regional routes for the majors who are feeding the problem by hiring their pilots at higher rates.
Much of the problem on both continents stems from early 2020, in the first months of the pandemic, many airlines grounded fleets and furloughed staff; many senior pilots opted for retirement at that point, and many other staff found other employment. Rehiring and training haven’t kept pace with the ramp-up in travel.
Yes, starting well over a year ago. When the pandemic began, the rental companies sold off huge tranches of their fleets and pushed off orders. And, of course, were short of cars when demand returned. Prices have leveled a bit in many areas, but in high-demand areas not.
And, re-stocking has been held up in some cases by chip shortages, now that our cars are actually computers with wheels!
Have US car hire prices also shot up? Here in Europe the aftermath of the pandemic has led to ridiculous rates – there is apparently a severe shortage of vehicles.
The same explanation has been put forward here, but our prices are far from levelling off. We are talking about increases well in excess of 100% in many locations. I made two bookings (for Germany and Austria) – intending to cancel them if prices come down eventually. There is little sign of that!