Travel operator Tui reported a $75 million hit due to flight disruption.
Travel challenges and interruptions–including lengthy queues and canceled takeoffs–in the UK were the worst in Europe in the past months, says Sebastian Ebel, Tui’s incoming chief executive.
We had significant challenges and interruptions, especially on the UK side.
Sebastian Ebel, Tui’s incoming chief executive
The travel company said that Manchester was the most affected airport, and added that there had also been significant disruption at Amsterdam airport. Staff shortages are to blame for the difficulties at Manchester, says Tui.
There were airports which were by far worse than others, and it was more or less that the workforce was not available, mainly on security but also sometimes on baggage handling.
Sebastian Ebel, Tui’s incoming chief executive
The German-headquartered travel company reported a €75 million hit from flight disruption. According to Sebastian Ebel, Tui was not expecting such high levels of traffic chaos as international travel demand rebounded after coronavirus restrictions were lifted.
Last May, Tui canceled six flights per day from Manchester airport until the end of June, for a total of 180 flights. These cancellations represent about 1% of Tui’s total summer schedule. The company highlighted that it has canceled fewer flights than its competitors, such as easyJet and British Airways. “Manchester Airport has not enforced flight cancellations on any carrier, and we have been working closely with all our airlines to support them in operating their planned schedules,” said the airport, reacting to Tui’s study, in a statement.
Tui also pointed out that in May and June about 96% of its customers were successfully brought to their destination with no delays or with a delay shorter than 3 hours.
In the past two weeks, the company reported some relief from travel chaos and said that the situation is back to normal.
Despite the reduction of consumers’ income, Ebel said that Tui is optimistic about the future. He added that the tourism crisis that started during Covid-19 is now over, and that Tui is now seeing a “stable demand in a more challenging environment.”
