The UK Government has unveiled a 22-point plan for the aviation industry aimed at avoiding a repeat of the Easter and half-term disruptions over the summer.
The government has suggested that the industry maintain a realistic summer schedule and quickly alert passengers to flight changes.
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The move comes as Scottish and Northern Irish schools break up for the summer holidays. Welsh and English schools will break up next month.
Relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, coupled with workforce shortages, have resulted in widespread flight cancellations and caused huge disruption at UK airports.
In an attempt to prevent this from continuing, the government plans to help the industry hire and train staff.
It has encouraged personnel, from ground handlers to air traffic controllers, to collaborate on resilience planning.
The 22-point plan also includes improved consumer protection for air travellers.
Furthermore, the government is launching a Generation Aviation campaign to drive awareness of aviation careers, aiming to collaborate with colleges and universities to draw students to these careers.
Other measures include ensuring the delivery of a practical summer schedule and providing support to passengers when delays and cancellations are inescapable.
This plan follows the government’s waiver on airport slots that aimed to prevent last-minute cancellations.
A short window period has been provided for airlines to hand back slots for the rest of the summer season. This will allow passengers to make alternative arrangements ahead of time.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The 22 measures we’ve published today set out what we’re doing to support the industry.
“It’s now on airports and airlines to commit to running the flights they’ve promised or cancel them with plenty of time to spare, so we can avoid the kind of scenes we saw at Easter and half term.”
