European airline passengers risk another summer of travel chaos as destinations including Budapest, Marseille and Athens face an overload of air traffic during the peak travel season.
The warning was issued by Eurocontrol, the organization overseeing air space in Europe. According to a European Network Operations Plan published Friday, air traffic reached pre-pandemic levels last week, putting additional strain on the system as airlines and ground services still grapple with staffing shortages and strikes flaring up across the region.
“We have emphasized that the aviation summer could be very challenging, especially if higher traffic levels coincide with unforeseen events like bad weather or industrial action that hamper the smooth functioning of air traffic operations,” a spokesperson for Eurocontrol said.
There were more than 34,000 flights last week on Friday, and about 33,000 flights are set go ahead per day between July and August, Eurocontrol wrote in its plan. Although airports are predicting smoother operations, staffing issues could put pressure on hubs, especially if there are network disruptions, Eurocontrol said.
Airline executives have spoken out about the possibility of disruptions this summer as demand soars. Jozsef Varadi, the chief executive officer of Wizz Air Holdings Plc, previously said that airline operations won’t be perfect this summer following a chaotic travel season last year, but he expected the industry to be more robust and resilient to tackle any problems.
Meanwhile, Ryanair Holdings Plc CEO Michael O’Leary has lamented flight cancellations because of strikes by air traffic controllers in France. The Irish budget airline scrapped 130 flights last week and 400 flights in early June because of the protests.
This summer is set to experience an additional challenge because the Ukraine war has limited the amount of available airspace, Raúl Medina, Eurocontrol’s director-general, said during an Airports Council International meeting with delegates in Barcelona last week, according to The Times.
