Ryanair warns passengers about flight delays. It’s going to get worse
As the holidays begin, the problem of flight delays is becoming more frequent. ATC staff shortages affect up to 30 percent of flights.
Flight delays can ruin your vacation from the very beginning of your journey. Unfortunately, when deciding to travel by plane during the holiday season, you have to expect possible disruptions regardless of the airline you are traveling with. Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson has warned passengers about flight delays caused by the shortage of air traffic controllers. The problem is already affecting 30 percent of flights, and it could get worse.
No air traffic controllers
It might seem that the summer months in Europe are the best time to travel by plane. Although tourists do not have to worry about snowstorms or icing of aircraft, other problems appear on the horizon. The expanded network of connections and the greater number of passengers affect the queues at baggage checks at airports. The weather can also surprise us, which in the summer months often means evening storms and strong winds. However, the real nightmare of passengers is the strikes and the shortage of ATC (Air Traffic Control) controllers. Air traffic controllers, who are responsible for the safe flow of aircraft (including preventing aircraft from approaching each other during flights and at airports), are demanding increasingly higher rates. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people employed in this sector has significantly decreased, and the needs of tourists are growing.
Ryanair warns tourists
Even before the pandemic, the lack of adequate air traffic control staff accounted for less than 5 percent of all flight delays in Europe. “It’s really, really difficult at the moment with ATC. In the last 10 days, we’ve had, like other airlines, about 30 percent of our delays entirely due to this (…) It’s terrible for our crews and terrible for our passengers,” says Eddie Wilson, Ryanair’s chief executive. The problems could get even worse in the coming weeks, as more countries start their school holidays in the second half of July. Travellers from the UK and Germany, among others, will be taking their holidays.
