Last summer, we wrote about the looming travel boom and whether or not the travel industry would be ready. Unfortunately for the industry and its customers, headlines from summer 2022 were filled with stories of long queues, delayed flights, and lost bags—leading to a rise in customer complaints (Exhibit 1).
Airlines and airports point to staff shortages across the ecosystem as a major cause of disruption. While labor is an important factor, the problems and solutions run deeper than filling open roles. We present four non-labor-based perspectives on the problems facing the industry and offer a path to resolution.