Strikes and staff shortages are forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights and causing hours-long queues at major airports, dashing hopes of a sizzling first summer after Covid-19 lockdowns.
Hopper travel agency, using data supplied by Official Aviation Guide, has compiled a list of European airports facing the worst delays and cancellations – offering a data source more current than any public record.
The 10 airports that currently rank worst for delays and cancellations (figures are averages for the first 10 days of July) are:
Earlier this week, Heathrow Airport ordered the cancellation of dozens of flights at short notice on Monday, affecting around 10,000 passengers.
Sixty-one flights were axed as the west London airport did not believe it could have handled the expected number of passengers.
Baggage system failures at Terminal 3 over the weekend resulted in hundreds of bags not being put on to flights.
A Heathrow spokeswoman said: “We are expecting higher passenger numbers in Terminals 3 and 5 today than the airport currently has capacity to serve, and so to maintain a safe operation we have asked some airlines in Terminals 3 and 5 to remove a combined total of 61 flights from the schedule.
“We apologise for the impact to travel plans and we are working closely with airlines to get affected passengers rebooked on to other flights.
“While Heathrow is ramping up resource and will have as many security officers this summer as we had pre-pandemic, airspace constraints across Europe and a lack of airline ground-handling staff can pose a risk to the smooth running of operations.
“As a result, we will take action where needed to ensure passengers receive the service level they deserve.”
Affected passengers are not entitled to compensation from airlines as the reason for the cancellation is classified as being outside of their control.
Airlines have cut thousands of flights from their summer schedules to cope with the Europe-wide disruptions, including British Airways, Lufthansa and EasyJet, while major airports have also taken steps to limit traffic.
Airports and airlines are scrambling to hire more workers from pilots to security and border control staff and baggage handlers after many left during the Covid-19 crisis.
Industry executives say it is hard to recruit for often physically demanding, relatively low paid work at airports often located out of town. Training new hires and getting them security clearance to work at airports also takes months.
