What to know about the travel chaos at Europe’s airports

Just as summer travel kicks off and the United States lifts its coronavirus testing requirement for arriving international passengers, many European airports are suffering major disruption.

“The majority of people who are traveling in the United Kingdom or in the European Union will have undisrupted flights,” said Rory Boland, the travel editor at Which magazine. “That being said, this is the most disruption we have ever seen, and it is significant.”

Here’s what you need to know about the problems at European airports.

There were indications that British airports were having problems delivering bags as early as March and April, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group. But the problems have grown in scale and magnitude.

In May, passengers reported that check-in and security lines at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were so long that they were waiting for hours outside before even entering the terminal. This month, that’s happening in Stockholm and Dublin.

A shortage of security agents in Britain has left passengers stranded in line in London, Manchester and other airports, leading airlines to cancel dozens of flights. The CEO of Ryanair, a budget carrier, suggested “bringing in the army” to alleviate the logjams; British authorities quickly rejected the idea, according to the Guardian.

Similarly long lines have been reported by passengers arriving at immigration checkpoints in London, Amsterdam and elsewhere. And once they get through, there’s no guarantee their bags will be waiting for them — baggage handlers are also in short supply, meaning days-long delays in getting luggage to customers in some cases.

Like many industries, airlines and airports laid off employees during the pandemic and are struggling to return to prior staffing levels, according to Boland. The air travel industry faces extra hurdles because new hires often need to wait for security credentials or specialized training.

Low pay at many European airports and airlines make it hard to compete for workers with other industries, Boland said.

Those working conditions have also led to strikes among airport workers in Paris and air traffic controllers in Italy in recent weeks, Bloomberg News and Reuters reported, each leading to hundreds of flight cancellations.

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All of this has coincided with “pent-up demand” for travel — a surge in passengers that “caught [the industry] off guard,” said Peter Vlitas, executive vice president of partner relations at Internova Travel Group.

“I don’t think anyone predicted we would go this fast,” he said.

How long will this go on?

“The problem with this is it’s not an issue that’s…