After scenes of terminal turmoil over half-term, Manchester airport bosses have begun a big recruiting drive to fill 500 vacancies, while its CEO has earned a £2.5 million salary.
Despite the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, which resulted in significant personnel losses, pay cuts, and absences, Manchester Airport Group CEO Charlie Cornish was paid £2.5 million last year, up £500,000 from 2020.
Families faced hours of lines, hundreds of flight cancellations, and a lack of staff at airports around the UK last week, with Manchester Airport being one of the worst hits.
The situation on the ground in Manchester became so terrible that one TUI pilot assisted in loading bags aboard their plane when no ground crew was available.
The flight had already been pushed back from May 29 to May 30, and passengers complimented the captain for taking matters into their own hands after they were again delayed.
The 62-year-old is reportedly said to have gotten other benefits, including a substantial bonus, and resides in a £2 million home in Prestbury, Cheshire.
During the pandemic, the company that owns Manchester, Stansted, and East Midlands airports made 900 redundancies and forced all employees to take a 10% pay cut.
Additionally, external agency personnel slashed 1,500 jobs across the three airports, exacerbating the challenges that passengers have faced so far this year.
‘The only thing that seems to be going off with this company lately is to be the chief executive’s perks,’ said Martyn James, a travel and consumer advocate.
‘It’s an insult to the tens of thousands of people who are queuing around the block.’
The CEO’s problems appear to be far from done, with more delays expected this summer as Manchester Airport scrambles to fill 500 positions.
The majority of the positions are touted as being available immediately, with anyone who joins up receiving £250 in cash if they suggest a friend.
Ray Ellis, 54, a former employee of the airport who resigned last night, claimed he did so because of the ‘chaotic’ activities at his old job.
‘Experienced employees left during Covid,’ Ray, a luggage handler, explained to the Sun. The new employees haven’t had enough time on the job to cope with issues.’
Despite the fact that the airport declared in April that it had hired roughly 200 new employees, with another 250 undergoing security screening, the problems caused by the massive rise in demand following the Corona virus show little signs of abating.
However, hundreds of workers are suspected to be missing from the group.
Thousands of passengers were stranded at UK airports or abroad throughout the half-term week as the airline industry slid into chaos.
According to the Manchester Airport Group, travel demand has risen dramatically since the beginning of the year, going from 37% of pre-covid demand in January to 80% in April.
‘The UK aviation sector is now recovering quickly,’ the CEO said in April, ‘but for the majority of the last two years, we have effectively been in survival mode.’
‘When the pandemic hit, we had almost no income and a lot of fixed costs.’ It was not an option to do nothing.
‘We had to cut costs just to stay afloat – it was that simple.’
‘We cut costs wherever we could, and in the end, because of the uncertainty about when overseas travel would resume, we had to offer colleagues the choice of voluntary redundancy.’
The simple fact is that we currently lack the personnel necessary to provide the level of service that our customers deserve.
‘Despite our best efforts since last Autumn, the tight labor market near the airport has made it impossible for us to employ personnel quickly enough to form a full-fledged team.’
Industry experts have warned the public that the problems are expected to linger into the summer, and that air travel will be difficult.
In April, CEO Charlie Cornish issued an apology to consumers, saying, “I cannot apologise enough for the interruption individuals have experienced,” but he has not issued another remark on the company’s website since.
In addition to his £2.5 million salary, he was given a £500,000 bonus, which he has yet to collect.