Warning of holiday chaos this summer as air traffic control strikes set to ground thousands of flights to Europe | The Sun
BRITS have been warned of even more summer holiday chaos as new industrial action will hit a third of all European flights.
Tens of thousands of flights risk being delayed or cancelled after European air traffic controllers said they would walk out – adding to the existing challenges of "high overloads" in traffic.
British holidaymakers will now have to wait to discover whether their trips will be affected, with dates for the strikes to be announced in "coming days".
Across the continent, airlines will be struggling to adjust to the huge operational challenges of the walkouts, which will likely include a scaling back in flights.
Controllers at Eurocontrol are striking after talks over rosters, staffing and pay broke down.
An industry source told The Times that the industrial action could disrupt up to 12,600 flights across Europe a day.
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“In a full-blown strike 20 to 30 per cent of flights would be at least delayed. They are big numbers,” said the source.
It comes after British holidaymakers were already warned of a “challenging” summer ahead with "high overloads" of traffic across Europe.
Last summer already saw huge airport delays, cancelled flights and lost luggage as travellers headed abroad post-Covid.
This year, Eurocontrol said it would experience overloads on most days in key regions and for peak days – especially Fridays and weekends – in tourist hotspots like London, Barcelona, Athens and Budapest.
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They issued the warning as the peak summer season began, with about 33,000 daily flights expected across Europe from July to mid-August.
The figure represents about a 7 per cent increase compared to last year's numbers.
Brits are expected to make more than 25 million overseas trips between now and September, mostly by air.
In a letter seen by The Times, the Union Syndicale Bruxelles, which represents EU civil servants, said it was left with no choice but to go ahead with the strikes.
“As difficult as industrial action is on everyone, we see no other path forward than to inform you of our decision to progress [with strikes].
“Our case is lawful, strong and fair, and in the interest of the agency, the network manager, our stakeholders (operational and member states), the flying public at large and ourselves as loyal employees of the agency.”
Before the strike action was announced, Raúl Medina, Eurocontrol’s director-general, warned: “This summer in Europe is challenging as we have less available airspace because of the war in Ukraine and the military needs . . . We need everyone to play their part.
"Airports need to be well staffed, it is vital [air traffic services] provide enough capacity and airlines stick to their schedules.”
Medina says that increased military activity in Europe has reduced the amount of airspace available by up to 20 per cent, meaning that some parts of the region are handling much more traffic because of rerouted flights.
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He added that: "Recent industrial action caused many delays."
“We can manage situations like that in quieter periods but if it happens in the middle of summer it will be much more challenging.”
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