UNITED KINGDOM: Strikes across Europe have increased aircraft cancellations and delays and cut bookings to cities like Paris, data from travel agencies shows, despite efforts by airlines to prevent a repeat of last year’s disruptions.
As per data from travel claim management company AirHelp, over the Easter weekend, from April 5–11, there were more flight cancellations and delays of over three hours across Europe than in 2022 and 2019, with France and Britain experiencing the greatest increases.
“The situation quickly deteriorated as France was sinking into the pension reform crisis. Charles de Gaulle airport is negatively affected, both as a destination and as a hub,” Olivier Ponti, VP of Insights at travel data company ForwardKeys, said.
In France, where air traffic control employees have been striking recently, 62% of flights arrived on schedule, compared to 75% in 2022 and 76% in 2019, before the pandemic halted international travel, statistics from AirHelp showed.
A total of 33,300 flights were cancelled over Easter this year, compared to 7,800 last year, while 9,000 aircraft experienced delays of more than three hours, as opposed to 6,800 last year.
By the middle of March, according to ForwardKeys, transfers and pre-booked stays at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport had decreased by almost 75% from levels in 2019.
The operator of Paris airports, Aeroports de Paris (ADP.PA), estimated on Monday that the strikes cost it some 470,000 passengers between January and March.
In Britain, border strikes also caused delays at airports around the nation, with airports in London experiencing the greatest backlogs, according to AirHelp.
Approximately 73% of flights were on time, down from 76% in 2022 and 81% in 2019. 33,700 flights were cancelled, up from 26,600 last year, while 10,800 planes, or 1% of all flights, experienced delays of three hours or longer.
Ongoing disruptions
The ongoing disruptions caused by protracted labour unrest have prompted several CEOs to ask the European Commission for assistance. These interruptions could increase costs for airlines that have worked hard to limit problems.
This year’s Easter was viewed as a crucial test of the industry’s capacity to manage the increase in tourists after hiring more workers.
But there is a particular concern that if strikes continue, tourist traffic, which was expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels this summer, may suffer.
According to ForwardKeys, during the week of March 16, tickets to Charles de Gaulle airport from Europe decreased by 30% from 2019 while decreasing by only 8% from the United States. And strikes appear to be continuing.
A highly controversial plan to raise the state pension age was signed into law by President Macron on Saturday, angering the unions, who had called for months of large-scale demonstrations to continue since this year’s January.
Due to a strike by security control workers organised by the union Verdi, Hamburg Airport in Germany has postponed all departures for Thursday and Friday.
The air traffic management organisation Eurocontrol has previously issued a warning that delays may last into the northern hemisphere summer, particularly if strikes continue.
Last month, Ryanair (RYA.I) Chief Executive Michael O’Leary called it a “scandal” that French strikes have disrupted services between various nations, particularly the bustling tourist market between Britain and Spain, by blocking many flights across French airspace.
Customers of airlines that experience lengthy delays may be entitled to compensation under European passenger rights regulations, which have long been a source of contention for airlines operating on razor-thin profit margins.
Airlines claim that in order to alleviate their financial burden, airports and other stakeholders must contribute to customer compensation.
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