Tourexpi
According
to Ryanair, more than 34,000 flights experienced a combined 5,000 hours of
ATC-related delays in a single day due to severe staffing shortages at key ATC
centres across Europe.
Despite
flight volumes still sitting 5% below pre-Covid levels, 2024 marked the worst
year on record for ATC disruptions. With the summer season now underway,
Ryanair warns that 2025 could be even worse unless urgent reforms are
implemented.
A
Ryanair spokesperson stated:
“As
we enter peak summer, it is unacceptable that passengers continue to face
avoidable ATC delays due to chronic understaffing and poor planning. Ursula von
der Leyen and her EU Commission have failed to act, allowing travel chaos to
persist. Sunday’s disastrous performance highlights the urgent need for
intervention.”
To
increase pressure, Ryanair has launched an “ATC League of Shame”, spotlighting
the worst-performing ATC providers across Europe and calling on national
transport ministers to be held accountable for repeated mismanagement and lack
of staffing.
The
airline demands two immediate reforms:
·
Proper staffing of all European ATC
centres, especially during peak travel hours.
·
Protection of overflights during
national ATC strikes, to prevent knock-on effects across the continent.
Ryanair
points out that ATC providers have access to airline schedules nearly a year in
advance, making staff shortages particularly inexcusable. Morning delays, in
particular, trigger cascading disruptions that affect operations for the rest
of the day.
Passengers
affected by delays are encouraged to visit Ryanair’s ‘Air Traffic Control
Ruined Your Flight’ webpage, where a template email is provided to help them
contact their national transport minister and demand immediate action.
“Enough
is enough,” the spokesperson added. “Unless the EU acts now, summer 2025 will
be remembered for travel disruption that was entirely preventable.”
Image
Credit: © AA
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