British Airways has offered £1,000 “welcome bonuses” to cabin crew with security clearances after staff shortages led to delays, cancellations and queues of frustrated passengers at airports.
Airlines and airports have been struggling with staffing problems caused by coronavirus related sicknesses and an increase rise in passenger numbers.
In a new recruitment campaign, it is offering cash incentives to cabin crew “who hold a current Heathrow or Stansted airside ID”.
“For candidates who are successfully offered a role through this campaign, we’re offering a welcome bonus of £1,000 — paid in two instalments — £500 after your first three months, £500 after six months in role,” the advertisement said.
Carriers and airports are struggling to recruit more staff because of delays in processing security checks, which can take up to 15 weeks.
Heathrow Airport has advertised for 12,000 more staff as passengers have faced long delays and chaos over the Easter holidays. It has also drafted in staff from across the UK to ease the backlog.
Travel industry analysts expect the situation will get worse at the height of the Easter getaway as thousands head to airports on Good Friday.
More than 20,000 people have been affected by cancellations so far, British Airways and easyJet have accounted for three-quarters of all flights affected last week.
British Airways has stipulated that recruits must be able to start work before the summer to be eligible for the cash incentive.
“Applicants with a notice period or other circumstances which prevents them from being able to commence training before July 2022 may not be eligible for the welcome bonus,” it said.
The staffing crisis arose after thousands of airline staff were put out of work during the pandemic.
Now, the rapid rise in travel volumes has put pressure on airports and the carriers that use them to prepare for operations after two years of stop-and-start business.
Good Friday is likely to be the busiest day of Easter, with 2,430 flights scheduled to leave the UK and more than 9,000 to fly over the bank holiday weekend.
Heathrow said it expects summer travel season 2022 at its peak to approach 2019 levels.
EasyJet's chief executive Johan Lundgren said the airline is waiting for the Department for Transport to give permission for about 100 members of staff to start work.
EasyJet has cancelled hundreds of flights in recent days, mainly on routes serving Gatwick Airport in West Sussex.
Mr Lundgren said this was primarily the result of high levels of coronavirus-related staff absences but also blamed the time it takes for the government to vet recruits.
“There’s a backlog there and we’re waiting currently for about 100 cabin crew to get their IDs,” he said.
“There’s a three-week delay on that. That has had an impact. If that would have been on time, we would have seen less cancellations.”
The government denied there are delays.
“There are absolutely no delays to security vetting of applicants,” it said.
“It is wrong to suggest otherwise, and we are prioritising vetting applications from the aviation industry.
“It is for the aviation industry to manage resourcing at airports and staff absences, especially at busy times of the year.”
British Airways through the years – in pictures
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Company%20profile
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Honeymoonish
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
