Why more air travel chaos is on its way

(CNN) — Now is the summer of our discontent, Shakespeare didn’t exactly write in “Richard III,” but for airline travelers in the US and Europe that’s exactly what this summer is shaping up to be.

Flights are vanishing from the schedules — some at the last minute as airlines fail to offer the services that travelers have spent significant amounts of money on, often in the hope of enjoying their first escape in years. More than 1,500 flights were canceled in the US alone this past Saturday and Sunday, and the US is heading into its busy July 4 holiday weekend.

Delta Air Lines has trimmed about 100 flights a day from its schedule in July to “minimize disruptions” and has issued a waiver for July 4 travelers as it braces for passenger volumes “not seen since before the pandemic.” Air Canada has said it will cancel up to 10% of flights in July and August, roughly 150 a day.

At airports, scenes of passengers lining up out of terminal doors or camping out in departure halls are increasingly familiar as delays with security, check ins and immigration add up to more mayhem.

Passengers have been asked to turn up even earlier to make their flight, and then to add to the confusion, asked again to turn up not too early. “Please consider that you are only welcome at the departure hall 4 hours before your flight,” Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport advised this week.

And then there’s the luggage problem. At London’s Heathrow airport, photographs showing huge piles of bags separated from their owners have become emblematic of the experiences of many fliers facing the frustration of trying to claim lost possessions or wait days to be reunited with them.

No quick fixes

Airports and airlines have been struggling to replace trained workers let go during the pandemic.

All in all, air travel is a bit of a nightmare — even a gamble — right now. And high season is only beginning.

There are apparently no quick fixes. This week, German airline Lufthansa warned passengers in an email that the situation was “unlikely to improve in the short term,” insisting stability would only be reached in the winter.

“Too many employees and resources are still unavailable, not only at our infrastructure partners but in some of our own areas, too,” it said. “Almost every company in our industry is currently recruiting new personnel, with several thousand planned in Europe alone.”