5,000 delayed flights a day. At the end of June, six million passengers were affected by delayed flights in Europe, and more delays are expected this summer.
Even before last week's global IT outage Flights in Europe were plagued by major delays.
In the last week of June, punctuality deteriorated dramatically compared to the previous year. According to the European industry association Airlines for Europe, there were 5,000 delayed flights per day, which corresponds to over 200 delayed flights per hour.
A large part of the delays were caused by bad weather, but also by capacity problems.
The war in Ukraine is affecting
“The airspace in Europe is a bit tight because of the war in Ukraine. There is a large part of the airspace that is actually closed,” says Kevin Hiney, head of communications at Airlines for Europe.
Shortage of air traffic controllers
Another factor is the lack of air traffic controllers.
When there is too much capacity in one sector of the airspace because the demand for flights is greater than what can be accommodated, it needs to be divided into two, and then more air traffic controllers are needed.
– In general, in Europe there has been a shortage of air traffic controllers for a very long time, and the pandemic has had a great impact, says Eivind Martinsen, group manager at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.
Higher capacity in Sweden
At the same time, Eivind Martinsen points out that Sweden is a bit outside the core of Europe where there is most air traffic, and that the capacity in Swedish airspace is high – unlike countries in central Europe.
– If you are flying, for example, from Arlanda to Gran Canaria or Greece, and are flying through Germany and France, then there may be a greater risk of delays, says Eivind Martinsen, group manager at the Civil Aviation Administration.
More delays during the summer
Airlines for Europe warns that there may be more delays during the summer.
“But airlines are consistently trying to do their absolute best to ensure they can fly on time,” says Kevin Hiney, head of communications at Airlines for Europe.
AIRLINES FOR EUROPE
The European industry association Airlines for Europe represents 17 airlines in Europe, including British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa.
Source: SVT.SE
