Even before last week’s global IT failure, flights in Europe were marred by major delays.
In the last week of June, punctuality deteriorated dramatically compared to the year before. According to the European industry association Airlines for Europe, there were 5,000 delayed flights per day, which corresponds to over 200 delayed flights per hour.
A large part of the delays were caused by bad weather, but also by capacity problems.
The war in Ukraine affects
– The airspace in Europe is a bit crowded because of the war in Ukraine. It’s a large part of the airspace that is actually closed, says Kevin Hiney, communications manager at Airlines for Europe.
Lack of air traffic controllers
Another factor is the lack of air traffic controllers.
When there is too much capacity in a sector of the airspace because the demand for flights is greater than what can be accommodated, it needs to be split into two, and then more air traffic controllers are needed.
– Generally in Europe there has been a shortage of air traffic controllers for a very long time, and the pandemic has affected a lot, says Eivind Martinsen, group manager at the Swedish Civil Aviation Authority.
Higher capacity in Sweden
At the same time, Eivind Martinsen points out that Sweden is a bit outside the core of Europe where there is most air traffic, and that the capacity in the Swedish airspace is high – unlike countries in central Europe.
– If you are to fly, for example, from Arlanda to Gran Canaria or Greece, and fly through Germany and France, then there may be a greater risk of delays, says Eivind Martinsen, group manager at the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority.
More delays during the summer
Airlines for Europe warns that there may be more delays during the summer.
– But the airlines consistently try to do their absolute best to ensure they can fly on time, says Kevin Hiney, communications manager at Airlines for Europe.