More than half a million passengers – 525,000, to be precise – across Ireland were affected by flight delays or disruptions during the first three months of this year, new research shows.
According to AirHelp, the world’s largest air passenger rights organisation, around 2.6 million passengers planned trips from Ireland during the first quarter of the year – across 20,000 registered flights.
This figure, AirHelp said, also demonstrates Ireland’s travel appetite is on the rise – with nearly 1 million more people flying between January and March this year than in the corresponding period last year.
However, significantly more flights were delayed in 2023, demonstrating the increasing concerns regarding ongoing air travel challenges ahead of the summer period.
The UK, Germany and Turkey were also heavily affected by flight disruption during the first quarter, but Greece, Cyprus and Kosovo fared the best in Europe.
Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp said: “It is clear that strikes and technical problems have already had a very negative impact on air traffic this year across Europe. The ongoing labour dispute has had a strong impact on the numerous delays, and we expect the situation to worsen as we head towards the summer. However, travellers are not helpless. If airline staff go on strike or the airline is otherwise responsible for the delay, they have a right to compensation for a delay of three hours and it is definitely worth having their case reviewed.”
