Ryanair warns of strike chaos over summer

MILLIONS of holidaymakers across Europe face travel ‘meltdown’ this summer due to strikes and staff shortages at air traffic control centres.

Budget airline Ryanair issued the warning yesterday ahead of more protests by French air traffic controllers this weekend. It said this alone will lead to hundreds of flights being cancelled.

The airline revealed that more than 1,000 of its flights were grounded last month alone – almost all of which it said were caused by staff shortages and strikes at air traffic control. Easy Jet cancelled 974 flights.

According to industry figures, more than 117,000 flights were delayed last month – with 71,000 flights (61 per cent) delayed due to air traffic control (ATC) shortages or walk-outs.

French controllers staged protests on three out of four weekends in May. But Ryanair said thousands of cancellations have also occurred because of acute staff shortages in the UK and Germany, particularly at weekends.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary said: ‘Europe’s ATC providers are approaching the point of meltdown with hundreds of flights being cancelled daily simply because they don’t have enough staff.’

A spokesman for UK air traffic control provider Nats said its staffing issues accounted for less than 3 per cent of cancelled Ryanair flights in the UK this year, adding that bad weather in April and May, including thunderstorms, led to delays. She added that it was embarking on a modernisation programme to accommodate growth in air traffic.