If air traffic at French airports picked up this year after the covid crisis, last December it was still 21% below the last “normal” year for the sector, that is, 2019.
However, despite the fact that the number of passengers continues to decline, the number of delays is on the rise according to AirHelp, a specialist in online passenger compensation.
According to his estimates, “compared to 2019, the percentage of air passengers who suffered a delay in December increased by 22%. The risk of suffering a delay of more than two hours is also greater”.
A trend that lasted all year
A figure that confirms a trend that has been maintained throughout the year. From May to August, if 20 million French people took the plane, 38% of them had to suffer delays or cancellations (45% only for Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport).
This is 10 points more than in 2019, when the number of departing passengers was much higher (28 million). It is also 3 points more than the European average.
Persistent Shortage in Security Professions
The reasons are well known. The shortage of personnel, particularly in the strategic area of security and passenger control, hindered boarding times throughout the year.
Last May, Aéroport de Paris (ADP) estimated that 4,000 positions would be filled at Orly and Charles-de-Gaulle airports, in addition to the 600 ongoing hires at ADP “including 400 at Charles-de-Gaulle”.
“What worries us is the good passenger experience and in particular at control inspection posts (security control, editor’s note). And today, companies have great difficulties recruiting” in this sector, explained its general director, Agustín de Romanet. .
This understaffing persisted throughout the year despite a gradual improvement in the security situation. But recruitment in this field is complicated, the profession remains unattractive (salaries, staggered hours) and the delays in obtaining administrative authorizations for new hires are long.
“Nor had we foreseen the dynamic economic reactivation with many job offers, where qualified people have the option” which complicates hiring, said the general secretary of the CGT Daniel Bertone.
Remember that if a flight is canceled or delayed for more than three hours, European regulation EC 261 provides for compensation of up to 600 euros, calculated based on the distance of the flight.
Source: BFM TV
