Travel companies and organisations have largely blamed the aviation sector for the disruption seen at airports around the world during this year’s Northern hemisphere summer.

Holidaymakers faced queues snaking out of terminals, long delays and high flight cancellation rates as airlines and airports struggled to ramp up services after the lifting of COVID restrictions.

In a poll of industry professionals, carried out for WTM London, 21,5% blamed airlines for the chaos, while 13,5% pointed to airports and airport staff – meaning more than a third (35%) of respondents felt the problems were caused by the aviation sector.

Almost one in six (17,1%) said governments were to blame, reflecting the problems the aviation industry faced when reacting to the relaxation of travel restrictions with very little notice.

Brexit was blamed by 11,6% of respondents – although that figure rose to 25% for those in non-EU Europe, suggesting the extra paperwork and restrictions on British travellers heading to the continent have caused more headaches.

One in ten (10,4%) pointed to low wages in the industry, which meant many roles, such as baggage handlers, were tricky to fill in a tight labour market.

‘Travel companies in general’ were cited by 6,8% – and the same number also blamed passengers, many of whom were flying for the first time since 2019 and may have forgotten about issues such as preparing for security checks or passport validity.

Consumers blame government

When a WTM London consumer survey asked holidaymakers rather than industry executives about who to blame for this summer’s airport chaos, ‘the government’ was cited by most, as a fifth of respondents pointed the finger at politicians.

One in six (16,5%) of consumers blamed airlines, while airports and airport staff were blamed by 14,8%.

“Travel companies and tourist boards have been desperate to capitalise this summer on the huge bounce-back in demand amid the lifting of restrictions – but the aviation sector has been struggling with a crisis of resources and workers,” says Juliette Losardo, Exhibition Director at World Travel Market London.

“As we head into winter in the Northern hemisphere, there are signs that the situation is improving, and the airports and airlines are working hard to overcome these hurdles. Interestingly, when our survey asked about the main challenges for 2023, just 4,2% of respondents cited this year’s airport chaos, suggesting that the industry is confident the worst is behind us.”