France, Spain, Germany, the UK and Greece remain Europe’s weakest air traffic control systems

International

Over 30 million passengers in 2025 affected by mismanagement and staff shortages / Ryanair calls on Ursula von “Derlayed-Again” to fix Europe’s broken air traffic control – or step down

Ryanair, Europe’s number one airline, has called on EU Commission President Ursula von “Derlayed-Again” to urgently reform the EU’s failing air traffic control (ATC) services or resign. The demand follows the airline’s publication of its “ATC Delay League” for September, showing that France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Greece deliver the worst ATC performance in Europe, suffering from chronic delays and cancellations due to inadequate staffing and poor management.

There is no justification for these persistent disruptions, particularly as Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark operate their air traffic control systems efficiently – without mismanagement or staff shortages – and therefore report the lowest levels of delays and cancellations in Europe this year.

Ryanair has repeatedly urged the EU to reform its underperforming ATC system, yet Ursula von “Derlayed-Again” continues to ignore the ongoing disruptions, which have already affected over 30 million EU passengers in 2025. The airline now calls on EU travellers to visit the website “Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight” and demand that von der Leyen take immediate action to repair Europe’s broken ATC system by implementing two key measures:

National ATC providers must be fully staffed for the first wave of morning flights, or face financial penalties.

Overflights and the EU single aviation market must be protected during national ATC strikes.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair

“It is unacceptable that Europe’s weakest air traffic control systems in France, Spain, Germany, the UK and Greece continue to cause so many avoidable delays and cancellations for millions of Ryanair passengers.

EU airlines have already offered a clear solution:

National ATC services must be fully staffed for morning operations, or face fines.

The European Commission must take action to protect overflights during national ATC strikes.

Yet EU President Ursula von ‘Derlayed-Again’ remains idle in Brussels, protecting neither EU passengers nor the integrity of Europe’s single aviation market.

Europe’s air traffic control needs urgent reform. If Ursula von ‘Derlayed-Again’ cannot deliver it, she should step aside and let someone competent take on the task.”