Yep - but saying something is under-resourced, and actually doing something about it are two different things as well - and I'm sure that's something many have experienced in our working careers!

Staff resourcing at this airport had to be approved at board level - way above the level of the operational budget-holder, and using safety as a case was not particularly successful at that particular airport. In addition, staff for this area could only be recruited from another airport department, not direct in from outside (for reasons too long to explain), and the other airport department is also customer facing, so removing staff from there impacts on passengers again (which from this thread is a no-no). Once recruited over from that department, IIRC there was a 6 week lead-in for training and bureaucracy to be dealt with. So what do you do in the 3 months minimum you have to wait while the increased staff are getting into place, presuming your board approves the request for additional staffing? Trollies or safety? And what do you do if your board refuses to increase staffing levels?