Nearly 3,000 jobs lying unfilled at UK airports, but travel industry failing to compete

As demand in the travel industry begins to return to pre-pandemic levels, nearly 3,000 positions are lying unfilled across UK airports, with open vacancies for jobs like Baggage Handlers and Aircraft Cleaners soaring, according to new research from smarter job search engine Adzuna.

• There are 2,884 jobs currently available in UK airports
• In total, airlines are currently offering 660 jobs across the UK
• Top hiring airlines include TUI, Jet2, and Easyjet
• Hot demand for Aircraft Cleaners (up +731% year on year), Airport Security Officer (+200%), and Flight Attendant (+192%) but salaries for these roles remain low
• Wider travel boom, with companies such as Booking.com and Travelex ramping up hiring
• Recruitment firm Staffing Match is offering retention bonuses of £1,000 for airport operative roles amongst others 

Paul Lewis, chief customer officer at job search engine Adzuna, comments: “The travel industry is back in the air, but many flights remain grounded due to a critical shortage of staff. There is a huge demand for roles such as aircraft cleaners, airport security officers, and flight attendants due to the large numbers that left the field during the pandemic. In an attempt to put an end to the recent disruption, Easyjet and TUI are seeing a noticeable push in recruitment. The question is, will this be enough? With passenger numbers beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels, travel hiring is predicted to keep soaring. The industry may need to learn lessons from other sectors that saw a staff exodus over the pandemic, like hospitality, and expand perks, bonuses, and flexibility to tempt workers back to the sector.”

Table 1: Top 10 hiring airports

Table 2: Top 10 hiring airlines

Table 3: Growing demand for key airport jobs

Beyond airports, demand for travel experts is also rising including:

• Booking.com has hired 300 jobs so far in Manchester, with 30 currently advertised (Source: BusinessLive)
• Travelex has created over 1,000 jobs in the UK (Source: TravelWeekly)
• The UK travel and tourism sector is expected to create 700,000 jobs within the next decade (Source: City A.M.)