To a certain extent, maybe 10%, he is right - I dropped the kids at the airport on Thursday evening as they were going to see their mother for the first time in 12 months. I had checked them in online, so went to a self service kiosk to get the bag tags and then shot straight off to join the (massive) queue for security........with checked baggage still in hand!!! It was a SACL terminal person who pointed out my error as I was about to join the line in the old VA valet parking area. Hands up, I'm out of practice at this travelling lark. To be fair also, we were with VA and it only took 50 mins or so from getting in the terminal and getting to the gate. I'm not sure if the massive queue was for JQ or security????
However, the other 90% is due to staff shortages all over the airport. Everyone from the mentioned security to ramp staff, cleaners, caterers, check in, co-ordinators, crew and engineering is short because as usual companies let go of the operational staff (the people that make the system work), but probably kept proportionally more staff back in fluffy towers managing social media, marketing and "management". I've seen it every time we go through something like this (9/11, GFC, SARS etc), but this time it is worse due to the extended period and depth of cuts and people have left the industry and found other careers and jobs, and in many cases better paid with more sociable hours so aren't interested in coming back. Airlines' commercial departments have thrown the flights back into the schedules to get cash flowing again, but without any real co-ordination with the operational departments, and the airports have been caught out in the process. I'm not sure what the answer is to this as obviously the cuts had to be made, but really a bit more of a planned, gradual ramp up matched to the amount of operational staff available should have been in mind, and not going straight up 110% of pre-covid capacity at the first opportunity.