The chaos in the skies around the world seems to never end: after a summer of 2023 marked by flight delaysso that Eurocontrol revealed that it was one of the worst years ever seen, unfortunately the forecasts for this year do not seem positive, whose summer season seems to be characterized by the same problem.
What the summer of 2024 looks like
The FlightAware provided data on the chaos in the skies in recent weeks: between June 28 and 30, half of the flights were cancelled. While between June 24 and 30, according to Eurocontrolplanes flying over Europe’s skies have accumulated 1.9 million minutes of delay, the 153% more than the same period a year ago and 125% more than in 2019. And do you know what is even more disconcerting? In 2019, the year preceding the pandemic that stopped the entire world, the number of air trips was higher than this year.
It is no coincidence that several airlines have started to raise the alarm about possible seasonal inconveniences. An example of this is Ryanair, which in a note announced that: “On Thursday 27 June over 30% of Ryanair’s 3,500 flights were delayed due to ATC disruptions. 16 aircraft did not return to base on Thursday night due to ATC delays, meaning they did not meet the landing times set by the airport curfew. This morning (Friday 28 June), 25% of Ryanair’s first departures (150 out of 600 aircraft) were delayed due to ATC ‘understaffing’ and ‘instrument failures’ at the Maastricht ATC centre. These repeated flight delays and cancellations due to poor air traffic management are unacceptable”.
WizzAir also had its say: “It is important to note that this issue is affecting many airlines, so hotel availability across Europe may be limited. WizzAir is doing everything possible to accommodate as many passengers as possible, but in the event that our external partners are unable to accommodate all requests due to lack of room availability, passengers may be required to arrange their own accommodation. Passengers will be able to claim the relevant expenses incurred, up to the allowed amount, via the official WizzAir website”.
What are the causes?
As you can read in an article of the Corriere della Sera, There are those who claim that the causes of all these inconveniences are to be found in the fact that the airlines are in enormous turmoil, so much so that announce new routes even a few weeks before the start. Until a few years ago, however, these decisions were made months in advance. There are also those who believe that the management of crew shifts is wrong, which at the same time is not sufficient.
Staffing would also be insufficient at airports, where there are too many movements to manage and where, inevitably, the times for disembarking, boarding and baggage handling are extended, and at control towers.
Then there is the question of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict which has reduced the usable airspace leading to a real congestion in the skies for those flying to that part of the world. Finally, the bad weather, which is forcing aircraft to take alternative routes, consequently creating traffic at high altitudes.
