Menzies Aviation said it struggled to get a place at meetings with ministers during Covid, with the focus on airlines and airports instead.
John Geddes, Menzies’ head of corporate affairs, said: “Everyone talked about airlines, airports and aviation services, but nobody talked to us. We had the devil’s own job trying to get on a government committee.
“We told (transport secretary) Grant Shapps in the one audience we had we would lose 45% of our workforce in six months. Brexit made the issue worse.”
Geddes said there was a lack of recognition that UK airports outsourced staff, with, for example, British Airways check-in at some airports run by Menzies staff in BA uniform.
“We keep the wheels turning,” he said. “We are 7-8% of the flight cost, but 80-90% of what can go wrong on the ground.”
He blamed a race to the bottom by airports and airlines seeking to cut costs for some recruitment issues. “We are a 5% margin business. Airports can recover costs by putting up car parking, airlines put up flight costs, but we are in three to five-year contracts with airlines, we don’t have that ability.”
He said this meant ground handlers were “fishing from the same pool” as Amazon. “We are closer to a minimum wage job than we have ever been. We need to make airports attractive to work in again.”
Geddes spoke during a UK Trade and Business Commission inquiry, the First Brexit Summer. Also present was Nigel Milton, Heathrow’s chief of staff and carbon. “We have more passengers than we have staff to cope with. It’s the speed of recovery,” he said.
“The UK received a lot less sector support (than other nations), which meant we had to cut back more. Furlough ended in September, but travel did not resume until March.
“I don’t think it’s long term, but I worry about the next 12 months. There’s a lot to be done if we’re to avoid the same in summer 2023.”
Geddes said around 30% of Menzies’ baggage handlers were EU workers and called for aviation to be put on the government’s shortage occupation list, enabling foreign workers to fill vacancies.
“We are pretty much fully staffed now but have a supervisory and skills shortage. We could bring people from Spain, Mexico and eastern Europe, but we can’t.”
