EasyJet has warned that the closure of Ukrainian airspace next summer could lead to more flight disruptions.
Congestion in the skies over Europe is causing delays for airlines, Chief Commercial Officer Sophie Dekkers has told MPs.
Ukraine’s airspace has been closed since February due to the Russian invasion.
The airlines also said the tight labor market will continue to make it difficult to hire enough staff.
Ms Dekkers told the Transport Select Committee this has created a serious challenge for air traffic control, with a lot of traffic having to be routed through “a very narrow funnel across Europe”.
This means, she said, that all flights passing through southern Europe are subject to delays and domino effects.
The low-cost carrier doesn’t expect that to change any time soon, so the need to accommodate delays will be taken into account when creating its summer 2023 flight schedule.
The travel industry is hoping the strong holiday appetite will continue into next year to help the sector recover amid cost of living pressures and other challenges.
Demand rebounded quickly after travel restrictions were lifted in March, but many airlines have been hit by staff shortages, including ground handlers.
A number of airlines have been forced to cut their flight schedules and some airports have had to impose capacity restrictions.
Looking ahead to next summer, British Airways and Gatwick Airport officials said recruiting the committee remains a challenge.
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EasyJet said that the labor shortage was “broadly the biggest risk for next year”.
Gatwick Airport has urged the government to open up the international work visa sector.
Figures released this week showed that the number of job vacancies in the UK had fallen from record levels but still remained high.
Ms Dekkers said EasyJet is more reluctant than ever to enter the candidate market because it “cannot use resources from Europe to participate [its] Growth”.
She said the proportion who were rejected because they were “international” applicants and could not be offered a job in the UK had risen from 2% to around 40%.
In June, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary told the BBC the UK government should allow more workers from Europe to fill post-Brexit vacancies. The government said it wanted companies to invest in UK workers.
This week, Mark Tanzer, chief executive of travel association ABTA, said the recruitment challenge posed by people moving into other industries during the pandemic “will certainly continue as the war for talent rages on”.
Mr Tanzer also said he expected companies “would battle strong economic headwinds over the next year”.
Heathrow Airport said on Tuesday that the outlook for future demand was uncertain due to “growing economic headwinds, a new wave of Covid and the escalating situation in Ukraine”.
On October 29, Heathrow will lift its cap on the number of passengers it can depart each day to ensure it has sufficient staffing capacity.
However, the airport is working with airlines on an alternative system that can be used to manage capacity during peak periods such as Christmas, if needed.
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