Japan Airports Plagued By Ground Staff Shortages

Above, a Narita Airport terminal. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As Japan has (more or less) returned to normal when it comes to inbound tourism, it as exposed a major problem: airport ground staff shortages.

Many airport ground staffers quit their jobs during the pandemic, but after the lifting of pandemic restrictions in the country, Japan's airports found that they have inadequate staff to handle day to day operations with the influx of international flights.

According to the Asahi Shimbun:

Although inbound tourism to Japan is picking with the easing of COVID-19 border controls, a dire shortage of ground staff at airports is hampering the airline industry’s post-pandemic recovery.

Alarmed at the situation, a transport ministry expert panel moved to address the crisis with a May 11 proposal to raise the salaries of ground staff to make the sector more attractive to job hunters. It also called on airport ground handling companies to adopt a unified staff evaluation system.

So many ground staff quit their jobs during the pandemic that airports are now struggling to handle the influx of international flights, which has resulted in delays in resuming inbound flights and long lines at airport security checks.

The expert panel hopes to compile formal proposals by the end of June.

The labor shortage is acute when it comes to finding staff to guide arriving aircraft to parking aprons, ensuring that passengers go to airport check-in counters and providing airport security inspectors.

According to the ministry, 61 major airport ground handling companies had around 21,600 employees as of December, or around 20 percent fewer than in March 2019, before the pandemic started. 

In addition to the pandemic, salaries and working conditions are believed to account for the exodus of airport staff.

To read more, go here.