Actually the [civil aviation] shortfall was realised early on.
Full credit should be given to the wartime UK government in foreseeing the post-war situation and, amidst the depths of hostilities, forming the Brabazon Committee, as early as December 1942.
Alas, the final result was far adrift from the hopes, with the exception of the Viscount, the Comet encountering its well-known steep learning curve. The others struggled to even get near the finish line, let alone past it.