Latest headlines re travel chaos....

Whilst there is an abundance of justifiable accusations of incompetence etc against the current Government, can anyone explain to me, given how airports and airlines are private enterprises, how the Liberal Party can accuse the Govt of "failing" the travelling public.
Given Covid furlough money and other financial assistance was paid to retain jobs, but instead, the air travel industry still sacked many, far too many as it turns out, key staff what else could they have realistically done?
The same people who accuse Governments of interfering in private enterprises are now blaming them for inaction. Even old employment laws would not have prevented the business decision to make mass redundancies in the light of huge losses incurred by the airlines etc. due to travel bans and it is those who took advantage to maximise profits with no thought for the future recovery needs who are solely to blame.
Like I said, there are plenty of reasons to bash the current administration but this is not one of them. I don't really see any of the measures ANY Government could have done differently to avoid this chaos.

 

They could have not done Brexit, which would have made it easier to recruit to fill the shortfall.

 

It's perhaps worth looking at the vast losses the airlines made during the pandemic and balancing that against the support they actually got. The travel industry was obviously hit massively and its a wonder its been able to escalate as quickly as it has given the issues of brexit and the swathes of hard working people who can no longer support our industries.

Obviously there is politics at play from the LibDems, but then we've got a Tory "lord" this morning gaslighting us that the airlines need to merely take advantage of brexit freedoms and all will be fine.

It cuts both ways.

 

Actually air travel and power are different. Utilities , particularly those regarding national interest should never have been privatised and certainly not sold off to foreign companies. However this is a long standing thing started mainly by Thatcher but continued by successive Govts. Same with PFIs leaving investors with profits in good times and public taxpayers with liabilities in bad times. So yes. I do blame Govt policies past and present for the state the UK has ended up in.

 

Allegedly, some of the airports used Covid as an excuse to make a lot of experienced, expensive staff redundant (instead of furlough) and have replaced them with cheaper, untrained staff and expecting the same service levels...

 

Yep' i think this just about sums it up' big business doesn't see people ' just spreadsheets ' the employees are nothing more than a number as we recently found out with P&O...

 

On the "passport checks on return." Is there actually chaos? The reason I say that is because I flew into Manchester at Easter and sailed through passport control. It was no different to pre Brexit. No extra checks or anything. Just wondered what the difference is supposed to be re pre and post Brexit.

 

This, and they could also have not done lockdowns to the extreme extent that they did. If the OP thinks that providing 80% funding for labour costs during the furlough period was adequate for both airlines and airport infrastructure to keep their operations dormant then he is sadly mistaken.

 

There are many factors, but one was Schapps' ridiculous "in-out" policy over the travel restrictions during Covid. This added to the uncertainty for travellers and also airlines and their staff, many of whom chose to look for more secure jobs with more sociable hours, and have not returned. That much at least is down to government policy.

But another thing is the ridiculous manner in which border control checks are undertaken. Get off a plane in Spain or the islands and you are processed in an efficient and (in my experience) friendly manner. Come back to the UK on a quiet Sunday evening and you can expect to spend an hour shuffling through border control with minimal assistance and via either curt staff or automated passport machines which seem as temperamental as a 1970's Fiat. All while surveying Priti Vacant's beaming "Welcome to the UK" message.

Rant over!

 

About the only thing that was OK at Manchester last Saturday was passport control.

 

My last visit to Spain in April was only blighted by a two hour wait to get through security at LBA. After that it was all good. Alicante was smooth and a rapid transit through to the outside. Coming back was absolutely fine as well as there was little hold up at passport control.

Obviously people are still having problems at either end for various reasons. It's either extra checks going on or just a lack of staff, or both of these things. Thankfully I have no plans to leave these shores again this year (maybe ).

 

Airline travel was reduced to 10% of pre-covid levels in 2021. Now the demand this week is going to be higher then in 2019 on UK airports, somethings got to give. The industry was begging for more support during the pandemic - reminding the government that airports were having to be staffed for vital travel and freight, but they did not receive the support to keep staff. It was either let staff go or go out of business - As an example Emirates refunded $1.4 billion in tickets to passengers due to the pandemic. Those costs have to be recouped from somewhere by all airlines and airports.

 

Oi! Even 1970s (or even earlier)Fiats are reliable over here and they don't even go rusty So it must be down to the British 'climate' weather wise as well as political. Plenty of MK1 4x4 Pandas trundling round these parts usually driven by 70 year old farmers who probably bought new when they first came out. Slow as f*ck but they do get from A to B (eventually)

 

My brother had a Strada at one point. Deary me! The day he tried to get me killed in it he had conned me into driving it while he towed, so he could offload it on a dealer. We were heading up Dodworth Road towards Junction 37 but he hadn't told me the brakes had gone. He pulled up sharp, and I remember to this day the look on his face as the rope snapped and I overtook him in the car he was supposed to be towing! Holy Mother of God! Luckily I knew how to stop the thing with the gears! Mai piu!

 

I had a 1ltr Uno when they first came out for a short time boasting a F.I.R.E engine that was supposed to be modern. Drank petrol and pressing accelerator produced a lot of noise but not much in the way of acceleration. I also think the gear lever was connected to the gearbox via elastic given how sloppy it felt. Very easy to select the wrong gear. Fast forward to the relaunched Panda. Great little car all round. Reliable too.
E

 

Is it same as t'Cinquecento?

 

If you mean the Panda then no. The five hundred is considered trendy by younger drivers and townies and IMO overpriced. I hired one and it was OK but not much room especially for luggage space. Fun to drive but very small. The latest Panda has been made to look a little similar ( more rounded) and lacks the quirkiness of the original relaunched model. Great to drive with nice precise gear change but more importantly much roomier and cheaper overall than the Fiat Cinquecento. Even Clarkson raved about it and Captain Slow (James May)bought one. Again not a speed machine especially the 4x4 version but it can 'get where water can't' is light and airy with big windows and fun to drive.
Edit: Nowadays the problem with Fiats in the UK is not so much the cars but crap dealerships or at least it was 10 years ago when we left the UK. That said I switched to Skoda 5 years before that due to extra space needed when travelling between Barnsley and Italy so things may have improved.