European airlines warn of summer chaos due to air traffic controller shortage and weather

The European aviation industry is in distress: Airlines like Ryanair and industry representatives are sounding the alarm due to increasing delays and disruptions in air traffic. A shortage of air traffic controllers, poor weather, and the closure of large airspaces due to the Ukraine war are causing significant impairments in European air traffic. According to recent figures from Eurocontrol, the European air traffic management agency, only 56 percent of flights departed on time in the first week of July. In June alone, delays accumulated to 4.7 million minutes—a nearly one-third increase compared to the previous year. The airports London Heathrow and Gatwick are particularly affected. Ryanair reported that due to the shortage of air traffic controllers, 24 percent of departures last Friday were delayed. "Our figures are absolutely ridiculous," said Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director of Airlines for Europe. The increasing number of flights further complicates the situation. Eurocontrol recorded an average of 33,671 daily flights in June, a 5.2 percent increase compared to the previous year. The heatwave of summer 2024 is exacerbating the situation significantly. Airlines criticize the national air traffic services, pointing to Eurocontrol data which shows that delays in 2023 have reached the second-highest level in the past 20 years. Neal McMahon, Chief Operating Officer of Ryanair, blames the mismanagement of European air traffic control (ATC) for the delays and flight cancellations. State air traffic control providers argue that due to a regulated system prioritizing fee reductions, they have not been able to invest sufficiently in personnel and infrastructure. Despite increasing flight hours, costs for airlines have remained nearly unchanged over the past 20 years. However, the problem is complex. Lower fees could lead to further delays in the long term. According to Frédéric Deleau, Executive Vice President for Europe at the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations, while some controllers have been hired, this may be "too little and too late" for the summer. Many air traffic controllers, despite a primary focus on safety, are working at their limits and up to 28 days a month. It will take some time to break this negative spiral, Deleau concluded.