The travelling public could be facing into an SAD – or Summer of Aviation Discontent – across Europe.
In the past month, thousands of flights have been cancelled, principally due to staffing shortages.
Airlines in the UK and Europe facing disruption include not just low-cost carriers like EasyJet and Wizz, but also British Airways, Lufthansa and KLM. TUI, the German aircraft operator for package holidays across Europe, is also facing the same difficulties.
Chaos has hit airports across Europe – from Amsterdam, Dublin and Madrid to numerous hubs in the UK.
Meanwhile, last week to add to the current disruptions, air traffic controllers in Italy caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights to and from Italy. This is likely to happen again during the summer. The unions FILT-CBIL and UIL Transporti have also been calling on crew of low-cost carriers to join them.
Strike action and the threat of further walk-outs is haunting Ryanair in Spain – one of the airline’s busiest destinations – and France, with cabin crew in both countries complaining over pay levels and working conditions.
Ryanair group chief executive Michael O’Leary told Reuters that the Spanish strikes may cause a small number of cancellations or delays, but that the proposed action has “no support”. He said any disruption caused to Ryanair’s services by any industrial action is likely to be “tiny and inconsequential”.
Readers can listen to ITTN’s Joan Scales’ interview on Newstalk Breakfast, here.
