Strikes and shortages continue in Europe.
Last year, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had its busiest day ever on November 23, with almost 3 million passengers passing through the gates. Travel in 2024 is also expected to be record-shattering, but Americans’ favorite European destinations are likely to cause some grief.
Hungarian airline Wizz Air boss said that delays due to air traffic controller shortages will continue into summer 2024. Marion Geoffroy, the airline’s U.K. Managing Director, told The Independent, “We know for sure that in July and August, we will be accumulating delays,” and added that buffers will keep things on track.
France is hosting the Olympics this year and Germany has the Euro 2024 football championships. Apart from this, the trend of revenge travel hasn’t lost steam, and Europe will see a lot of extra strain on its resources.
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Travel Rebounding
Travel website Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) analyzed trends for 2024 and found that more than half of those surveyed are planning more international trips this year compared to 2023. The same report also shows Europe as the top international pick for vacationers.
Travel insurance company Allianz Travel also noted a 55% surge in travel to Europe last year as Americans try to get their fill of the continent after years of barriers erected by the pandemic. Plus, major sports events are happening this summer, which will, in turn, bring in the numbers.
In 2023, around 1.19 billion people passed through the top 40 airports in Europe. It’s still less than pre-pandemic numbers but significantly more than in 2022, reported European air traffic controller Eurocontrol.
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But the uptick in demand is pressuring an aviation industry that’s still recovering from the blows of the pandemic. Labor shortages, union strikes, and nature-related delays dominated the skies last year, causing significant disruptions across the region.
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Europe’s Difficulties
Europe has a shortage of air traffic controllers (ATC), with a deficit of 700-1,000. It’s worst in France and Germany, but overall, it may take up to four years to ease the shortage, International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) Executive Vice President Frederic Deleau said last year.
Summer 2023 was particularly challenging for the continent. According to data released by Eurocontrol, delays due to ATC strikes were four times higher in 2023 as compared to 2022. The report also revealed that TAP, Pegasus, and Turkish Airlines performed the worst when it came to punctuality.
A surge in demand overcrowded the skies and closed airspace over Ukraine also limited airlines.
This year so far, things haven’t looked much better.
Lufthansa, Germany’s flag carrier, has seen interruption in services week after week due to relentless strikes. In another blow to the airline this week, 10%-20% of flights ran as scheduled, impacting 200,000 passengers. The U.K. has also had major headaches due to train and tube strikes, while Spain, Italy, and France have seen union action this year.
In France, a near-miss collision at Bordeaux airport in December 2022 raised concerns about ATC shortages as well as absenteeism. A small private plane was on the runway when an A320 with 179 passengers was cleared for landing. The private plane pilot, who was flying with a nine-year-old, heard the radio and raised the alarm, preventing a tragedy. The ATC work practices in France are also being questioned after it was found that controllers were working fewer hours and leaving after clocking in at work.
If you have a trip to Europe coming up, keep updated on industrial actions and plan ahead. These strikes are a pain point for fliers, but these sometimes also disrupt local transportation systems (busses, ferries, trains).