The number of flight delays to and from Swedish airports has increased by just over 60 percent over the past five summers. If the trend continues, nearly 1.8 million travelers could be affected this summer, according to flight compensation company Airhelp.
The proportion of flight delays has increased in Sweden every summer for the past five years, according to public statistics reviewed by flight compensation company Airhelp. For each summer since 2014, the proportion of delayed flights has increased by almost 10 percent per year on average.
During the summer period, between 1 June and 31 August 2014, almost 10,000 flights were cancelled or delayed to and from Swedish airports, which corresponded to just over one in five flights. During the same period last year, just over 17,000 flights were delayed or cancelled, i.e. almost one in three flights. This meant that over 1.5 million passengers were affected, of which 80,000 were delayed by more than three hours, according to Airhelp.
If the trend continues, the number of flight delays this summer would rise to almost 18,700, assuming the number of flights this summer is at the same level as last year. In that case, the proportion of delayed flights this summer would increase to almost 36 percent.
SAS SCEO Rickard Gustafson warned back in May that 2019 could be another summer of major delays and canceled flights. In an interview with SvD, the airline CEO pointed to poorly functioning European air traffic control as the cause.
”"The historical data supports the concerns that SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson felt back in May when he warned of flight chaos this summer. According to the industry association for European airlines, Airlines for Europe, deficiencies in air traffic control were the cause of 75 percent of delays in Europe last summer," says Airhelp's Sweden manager Andreas Hermansson.
The number of passengers affected by flight disruptions at Swedish airports during the summer has also increased by 136 percent over the past five years, from approximately 630,000 in the summer of 2014 to nearly 1.5 million in the summer of 2018. If this trend continues, it would mean that up to 1.8 million passengers could be affected by delayed or canceled flights this summer.
”"If you are going to travel this summer, I highly recommend that you review your rights before you leave. Then you will be better prepared for what you are actually entitled to if you were to be stranded at an airport during your vacation," says Andreas Hermansson.
If a flight is cancelled or delayed for more than 3 hours, the traveler is entitled to compensation of between 250 and 600 euros per passenger, according to EU law EC 261.
Source: di.se
