An airport truck driver says she has to fill in as cabin cleaner and gets 7 minutes to clean a plane. It shows how a crippling staff shortage is taking its toll on US airport workers.

The travel chaos this summer has put airport staff under pressure to work harder and fill in for other jobs.

The airline industry has struggled to deal with the strong travel demand after allowing workers to go during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The situation has left passengers stranded, forced crews to time out, and caused a lot of flight delays and cancelations.

Airport workers in the US have taken a toll on it. The disruption this summer has been the worst ever, according to truck drivers, wheelchair helpers, and airport cleaners.

Lashonda Barber, a trash-trucker driver who works for Jetstream at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, told Insider that she takes heavy garbage bags off at least 30 aircraft. Employees like Barber are forced to work back-to-back due to flight delays.

She has to remove trash bags from planes with the help of another person. She said that her team has shrunk to three workers after two quit and one was promoted.

Sometimes Barber is asked to step in as a cabin cleaner due to staffing issues. She said the airline only gives her seven minutes to clean the seats and toilets.

She said that it wasn't enough time to clean what the airlines wanted.

The summer has been the worst because there aren't enough staff. She thinks being paid $18.25 an hour isn't enough. She became a member of the Airport Workers United union to demand pay raises.

The wages of the workers who were interviewed were confirmed by a representative from the union.

The minimum wage in Massachusetts is $14.25 an hour, but Frantz Genisca works for Swissport and is paid $18 an hour.

He said it can take at least 30 minutes to clean a plane, but airlines want his team to finish the job in 10 minutes, which isn't enough time to clean the entire aircraft.

Genisca said that the airplanes arrived with a lot of trash.

He said that he once left some trash on the plane because he didn't have enough time.

Issues have arisen for his team due to the labor shortage. He said that when the planes arrive at the same time, there's a lot more work to be done and one person should be doing it.

According to Larry Allen, a wheelchair agent for Delta Air Lines, there are staffing issues at Dallas Fort- Worth Airport. Many older airport workers retired during the Pandemic.

He makes $10 an hour with tips by pushing people in wheelchairs around the airport from the gate to the plane. There is a minimum wage in Texas. Allen said he makes a lot of trips.

The biggest challenge is pushing people up a steep hill. He hustles for the money by smiling and being nice.

If you do a really good job, you could make more money than the minimum of $5. It isn't enough.

The airline has a good track record of giving compensation and benefits to staff, according to a Delta spokesman. Vendors for Delta are required to provide fair and competitive compensation.

Jetstream and Swissport did not reply to Insider's request for comment.