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The easing of travel restrictions is under threat from airline staff shortages, as crew are being instructed to self-isolate amid rising infection rates, an industry union has warned.
British Airways is facing a “significantly under-resourced period,” cautioned the BASSA union in a staff memo. “This has been caused by a combination of factors, increased self-isolation, higher than expected customer loads, and of course an increase to the flying programme.”
The union, which exclusively represents BA cabin crew, also warned that some flights may be forced to operate with fewer staff than would usually be expected.
“Although British Airways still has thousands of staff furloughed, the airline may face a crew shortage over the next few days as it recalls cabin crew,” warned industry website Paddle Your Own Kanoo.
British Airways responded that it is “operating our flights as planned”.
Scroll down for more of today’s travel news.
Bangkok workers told to stay home as Thailand sets curfew
Thailand has implemented its toughest restrictions in more than a year in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, with new curbs on movement and gatherings imposed and widespread suspensions by airlines and bus firms.
Authorities have urged people in and around Bangkok, the outbreak epicentre, to work from home and have set up 145 checkpoints in 10 high-risk provinces, including 88 in the capital, to try to curb non-essential regional travel.
The restrictions, initially for two weeks, aim to slow the spread of the coronavirus and include a curfew, mall closures and a five-person limit on gatherings, after a period of record or near-record deaths and cases.
Thailand recorded 8,656 infections and 80 deaths on Monday, among the 345,027 cases and 2,791 fatalities overall, the vast majority from an outbreak since early April that is being fueled by the highly transmissible Alpha and Delta Covid-19 variants.
Credit:
Getty
Travelodge recruiting hundreds of new staff
Hotel chain Travelodge is looking to fill 680 jobs across the country in readiness for this summer’s “staycation” season.
The recruitment drive includes full- and part-time positions for posts ranging from management, bar work and receptionists.
Craig Bonnar, chief executive of Travelodge, said:
We are gearing up for a busy summer staycation season this year, and we need to fill 680 permanent positions immediately.
We are looking for individuals who have passion, determination and a desire to deliver excellent customer service.
Heathrow passengers down almost 90pc on pre-pandemic levels
Heathrow passenger numbers remain almost 90 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels and significantly lower than EU rival airports, new figures show.
Meanwhile, the closure of transatlantic air links is costing the UK economy at least £23 million a day, the airport warned today.
Airport bosses revealed just 957,000 passengers passed through its terminals in June compared with 7,246,157 who used the west London airport in June 2019.
The number of passengers travelling through the airport covers the month where Portugal was moved from the green list of countries to amber and led to widespread fury in the travel sector over the speed of rule changes for travellers. Following the latest data, Heathrow bosses urged the Government to do more to support the sector.
Credit:
HANNAH MCKAY/Reuters
Twelve countries on course to join green list
Twelve countries including Italy, Germany and Bulgaria are on course to join the quarantine-free green list this week and open up travel to unvaccinated holidaymakers, according to an analysis of official data.
The 12 countries meet the green list criteria used by government scientists to determine if countries’ infection rates, the testing capability, vaccination levels and risk from variants are low enough to justify inclusion.
The 12 also include Canada, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan and would bring the total of countries on the green list to 39, according to the analysis by Robert Boyle, a former BA strategist whose predictions have been accurate previously.
The Balearic islands of Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca, Portugal’s Madeira, Malta, Gibraltar and Israel are the only other viable holiday destinations on the green or green watch list, which has been expanded only once since it was launched last month.
What happened over the weekend?
Away from the Euros disappointment, here’s a recap of the main travel headlines:
- Malta bans all unvaccinated travellers
- Legoland New York opens, a year late
- Travel policy in chaos as cheap tests exposed as bogus
- Holiday chaos for 40,000 volunteers as NHS computers reject their vaccinations
- Britons left without travel insurance for 80 countries due to Foreign Office’s ‘arbitrary’ ban
Now onto today’s news.