British holidaymakers are facing record-breaking flight delays thanks to French air traffic control this summer, say leading airline bosses and EU officials.
More than one million passengers had their flights cancelled after air traffic controllers in France walked out for four days earlier this month, causing uproar for those looking to jet off on a summer getaway.
The strikes, which began on July 2, saw around 4,000 flights cancelled and more than 7,000 delayed – costing the aviation industry around £86 million.
And with more than 70 per cent of short-haul flights to and from the UK passing through French airspace, fears have been sparked over further delays in the coming months.
Ryanair has criticised European officials for allowing industrial action to cripple international travel.
Meanwhile the UK’s biggest airline, easyJet, has blamed the traffic control for most of the delays on its planes this summer.
It is believed that 49 per cent of delays for the airline have been caused by air traffic control problems since the start of summer, three times more than the same period last year.
EasyJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Sophie Dekkers, said the biggest issue in France was the ‘resourcing and actual planning of the airspace’.
Passengers look a departures information board at Paris Orly Airport during the strike on July 4
More than one million passengers had their flights cancelled after air traffic controllers in France walked out for four days earlier this month (Stock Image)
Chief Commercial Officer at easyJet, Sophie Dekkers (pictured), said the biggest issue in France was the ‘resourcing and actual planning of the airspace’
Ryanair has also criticised European officials for allowing industrial action to cripple international travel
She told The Times: ‘They don’t have the people on the ground to be able to cope with the amount of traffic that’s covering their airspace and they don’t have the capacity to cope with the traffic.’
Ms Dekkers also said there was further strain on airlines as around 20 per cent of airspace in Europe is closed, particularly in the regions near to Ukraine.
The widespread closure of airspace means travel to popular holiday destinations such as Spain, Italy, Greece and Croatia, has also been hit.
And European officials have warned there could be record-breaking delays and cancellations to come.
One senior EU official said: ‘Last year, we had the worst summer ever in terms of delays and cancellations. This year will be very similar.’
They also said that 37,000 flights – the air traffic control capacity’s limit – operate across Europe on the busiest days in the summer, pushing resource to the limit.
The managing body of European air space, Eurocontrol, is expecting to process five per cent more flights than last summer and also said that a ‘lack of air traffic control capacity to cope with traffic demand is expected to cause high delays’.
The widespread closure of airspace means travel to popular holiday destinations such as Spain, Italy, Greece and Croatia, has also been hit (stock image of a busy airport)
A senior EU official said that 37,000 flights – the air traffic control capacity’s limit – operate across Europe on the busiest days in the summer (stock image)
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary (pictured) has called for stricter rules for air traffic controllers in France and asked policymakers to tighten their grip on the situation
Airline bosses urged officials at the EU to change the law to protect ‘overflights’ which do not take off or land as a result of strike action – a known practice in France.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary is one who called for stricter rules for air traffic controllers in France and asked policymakers to tighten their grip on the situation, after his airline was forced to cancel 718 flights during the recent strikes.
Mr O’Leary said 90 per cent of those cancellations would have been avoided ‘if overflights were protected by the EU Commission during these recreational French ATC strikes’.
He said: ‘It is unacceptable that Commission president Ursula von der Leyen continues to stand idly by, while the single market for air travel over Europe is repeatedly shut down by [the] French.
‘We do not allow our railways, our motorways or our shipping lanes to be closed by industrial action, so it is unacceptable that the EU president fails to defend the single market for air travel.’
MailOnline has approached Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne (DSNA) for comment.
