Ryanair has once again called on EU President Ursula von der Leyen to urgently reform what it describes as Europe’s “broken” Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, as new data reveals that 33 million passengers have suffered delays this year due to ATC mismanagement and staff shortages.
According to the airline’s October ATC Delays League, France, Spain, Germany, the UK, and Greece top the list of Europe’s worst-performing ATC services for delays and cancellations in 2025. France alone recorded over 64,000 flight delays affecting 11.5 million passengers between January and October this year.
By contrast, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark have been recognised as Europe’s best-performing ATCs, operating efficiently and avoiding the widespread disruption seen elsewhere. Bulgaria recorded just 117 delayed flights over the same period.
Ryanair stated there is “no excuse” for the poor performance of the worst ATCs, highlighting that other European countries continue to deliver reliable air traffic services without staffing shortages or mismanagement.
Ryanair and A4E have also repeatedly called for EU ATC reform, but Ursula von der Leyen ignores these ATC delays/cancellations. Over 33m passengers have already suffered delays this year. Ryanair calls on all EU passengers to visit the ‘Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight’ webpage and demand that Ursula von der Leyen take urgent action to reform the EU’s broken ATC by (1) mandatory that national ATC services are fully staffed for the first wave of morning flights or face fines, and (2) the EU Comm must protect overflights during national ATC strikes.
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:
“It is inexcusable that Europe’s worst performing ATCs in France, Spain, Germany and the UK continue to inflict avoidable delays and cancellations on millions of EU citizens every month. Despite warnings, Europe’s ATC performance is not improving, as national providers fail to properly staff and manage their operations.
EU ATC needs reform and its passengers who are paying the price. ATC delays have already disrupted 33m citizens so far this year; with France, Spain, Germany and the UK consistently failing to staff and manage their services properly.
Ursula von der Leyen has done nothing to fix this ATC crisis and EU passengers deserve better. It’s time the Commission took action to end this ATC chaos and protect EU passengers’ freedom of movement.”
