London’s Heathrow airport hiring as traffic hits highest since start of Covid-19

London’s Heathrow airport will ramp up hiring “as fast as possible” after passenger numbers surged last month to the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Almost 4.2 million travellers passed through the facility during March, according to a statement Monday. That represents a more than seven-fold jump from a year earlier, and a 45% increase from February’s volume of 2.9 million.

The hub, Europe’s busiest before the global pandemic started, is racing to hire 12,000 new workers to meet demand after the UK lifted curbs on travel. It said it expects a summer travel season that could approach 2019 levels at its peak.

The rapid upswing in travel volumes has put pressure on Heathrow, other airports and the carriers that use them to rapidly gear up operations after two years of stop-and-start business. They have struggled to handle increased traffic in the run-up to the Easter holidays after cutting back on staff during the pandemic.

Fuel shortages and a controversial mass firing at P&O Ferries Ltd. have added to the difficulties for Britons seeking to get away. The ferry company’s vessels running between Dover and Calais, France, remain idled after almost a month, contributing to truck backups over the past weekend. Meanwhile, drivers in southeast England have been hit by pump closures.

Some 34% of EasyJet Plc flights were delayed on Sunday, according to tracking site FlightAware, and officials have warned of more queues at airports later this week. The low-cost carrier has had to cancel flights due to a wave of staff Covid-19 infections.

British Airways pre-emptively pared back its schedule due to technology glitches, hiring challenges and resource issues at Heathrow. FlightAware showed 31% of its flights delayed on Sunday.

Strike Action

As of Monday morning, backups getting into the Port of Dover had eased, though ferry operator DFDS warned on Twitter of departure delays up to 90 minutes.

A four-hour strike by air-traffic control staff in Milan on Monday also caused delays and cancellations, according to according to a post by security consultancy service Crisis24.

EasyJet’s shares were 2.5% higher at 1:45 p.m. in London, while BA parent IAG SA advanced 0.2%.

Demand during March was driven by U.K. holidaymakers going overseas, Heathrow said. Leisure and business travel into the country remains weak due to high Covid levels in the country and the requirement for overseas visitors to test before returning home.

The airport also warned that it was still unclear whether the surge in demand was sustainable, with the war in Ukraine, high fuel prices and the potential for new Covid variants clouding the medium-term outlook. The airport said it was reviewing its forecasts and provide an update later this month.

“It is fantastic to see the airport coming back to life after two years,” Chief Executive officer John Holland-Kaye said in the statement.