Europe’s summer of discontent reveals aviation sector labour crisis

 The summer when air travel was supposed to return to normal after a two-year pandemic vacuum is in danger of becoming the summer when the high-volume, low-cost air travel model broke down – at least in Europe’s sprawling integrated market.

After 21 years as a service agent at Air France, Karim Djeffal left his job during the COVID-19 pandemic to start his own job-coaching consultancy.

“If this doesn’t work out, I won’t be going back to the aviation sector,” says the 41-year-old bluntly. “Some shifts started at 4 a.m. and others ended at midnight. It could be exhausting.” (...)