Originally Posted by
Skipness One Foxtrot
To me it's like parking an aircraft at Victorville for 2 years, it might return to service but it'll be forever a Hangar Queen as they're never quite the same again after extended idleness. The whole industry is like that now, it will take a long time to stagger back onto it's feet IMHO and hopefully the days of treating handlers and security staff like disposable baristas so we can all save a fiver on that holiday are forever gone.
The covid shut down may have exasperated things more, but some of the deep rooted issues have been there for many years. I've quoted on another thread that recruitment for the summer schedule needs to start no later than Christmas time to allow for Pass approval and sufficiant training to take place during the relativly quieter winter period. Ground handling companies will not do this due to the unwillingness to carry the staff on their books. Most recruitment begins in March which is way too late and is how we now find ourselves in the situation we have now. This is repeated year after year even pre-Covid.
When you let it spiral down to a certain level, it's incredibly difficult to recover from and results in further reductions in alreadly low staff moral and I would garner a guess that the cost is greater in the long run. I'm sure the accountents would disagree though.