Managing Director of Birmingham Airport
According to a study, Birmingham Airport had the worst aircraft delays in the UK during the Covid disruption last year, despite its chief executive receiving a substantial pay raise of 49%.
According to a review of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data, departures from the West Midlands airport were typically 12 minutes and 24 seconds late taking off in 2021.
Southampton Airport came in second place in the study, which was put together by PA News Agency, and was followed by Heathrow, Exeter, and Aberdeen airports.
All scheduled and privately chartered departures are considered in the ranking.
Flight cancellations are not included.
Birmingham Airport stressed that many of its delayed departures were able to make up time in the air because of the huge reduction in flight numbers due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a spokeswoman, last year was a dark period for aviation because Birmingham Airport’s resources and capacity were cut to barely 25% of what they were before Covid.
Flights that took off late were able to catch up en route because the typical pressures did not present in the peculiar operating environment created by the significant decreases in air traffic.
With over 100 short-haul flights and service to long-haul destinations like Dubai, Mexico, the Caribbean, and the US, Birmingham is the sixth busiest airport in the UK.
Airlines including Ryanair, Tui Airways, and Jet2.com have bases there.
Even though Birmingham Airport received £12.8 million from the government during the Covid epidemic, when it laid off 43% of workers, staff shortages there have been blamed for causing delays in travel.
According to a recent study, Nick Barton, the airport’s chief executive, had a yearly salary increase of 49% from £399,000 to £595,000 in the previous year.
Trade unions were incensed by this because it followed the pandemic-related extensive job layoffs, but the airport, which is partially owned by many local authorities, claimed that its senior management is compensated at market rates.
The airport has been seeking to refill roles since air travel resumed.
President of Coventry Trade Union Council Jane Nellist blasted the pay award as ‘absolutely disgraceful’, the BBC reports.
The statement made by Ms. Nellis was that it was “yet another example of workers being urged to tighten their belts, while the fat cats take the cream.”
We should all have wage increases, she continued, if they desire one they should be equal.
Just 2.5 million people used the airport last year, compared to 12.6 million in 2019, before the pandemic.
The decline in flights brought on the travel restrictions in 2021 improved punctuality at all UK airports over the period before to the virus crisis.
According to Jo Rhodes, an expert for the consumer publication Which? Travel, the year 2022 “has been a totally different story” because the industry is having trouble keeping up with the surge in traveler volume.
“Holidaymakers have faced widespread flight cancellations in addition to intolerably long lines at check-in, bag drop, and airport security,” she continued.
To regain consumer trust in travel, the government must intervene.
“That” should entail giving the CAA more authority, such as the right to fine airlines directly when they infringe the law.
‘Ministers should also drop their ill-conceived plans to slash compensation rates for delayed or cancelled domestic flights.’
Last month, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, released a 22-point strategy to address flight disruption. This included allowing new aviation employees to start training before completing security checks, urging airlines to make sure their schedules are “deliverable,” and relaxing the restrictions governing airport slots.
After holding consultations on reforms like boosting the CAA’s enforcement authority and changing the compensation guidelines for domestic flights, the government is now analyzing the responses.
Airlines like British Airways and EasyJet have recently canceled thousands of flights out of concern that chaotic airport scenes may recur at the busiest time of year for school breaks.
Schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland have already broken up for summer, while the academic year for those in England and Wales ends in around a fortnight.