Labour Shortages and Capacity Management | Heathrow Airport Still Needs 25,000 More Workers

The impact of continued labour shortages in some sectors of the UK economy is illustrated by Heathrow Airport which continues to struggle with flight capacity.

As The Guardian reports here, management at Heathrow Airport claim that they are still 25,000 workers short of being able to provide a full flight capacity.

Since July 2022, staff shortages have meant that Heathrow's capacity has been restricted to 100,000 passengers per day, with a consequence being the cancellation of many flights.

25,000 workers is a huge number, and with unemployment in the UK at a historical low level, it's hard to imagine how Heathrow is going to be able to recruit such large numbers in the short-term.

Competition is fierce amongst employers for the staff that Heathrow might be wanting, such as security staff, baggage handlers etc.

Interestingly, one approach to increasing flight capacity being considered is to change the timing of flight departures from busy to quieter times.

The peak departure time is the morning when most passengers prefer to get away. Traffic gets much quieter in the afternoon.