Over 4,000 flights cancelled or delayed in a single day - with Ryanair one of hardest hit
Passengers had to deal with utter travel chaos on Tuesday (2 June) following thousands of flight cancellations across Europe.
A surprise strike by air traffic controller Skeyes caused major travel issues for airports in Belgium, as Travel and Tour World reports that Europe recorded a total of 4,049 flight disruptions.
The protest, which went on from 2pm to 9pm, was due to a dispute between management and trade unions over a new digital air traffic control centre serving Charleroi Airport and Liège's cargo airport, based in Namur, according to VRT News.
Ryanair was one of the most affected airlines with 225 delays and 82 cancellations across Manchester, Dublin, Brussels, Charleroi, Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, and Rome.
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Chief executive Michael O'Leary said in a statement that it was 'unacceptable that airlines were given zero notice of today’s Belgian ATC strike'.
"As a result, airlines were forced to cancel flights at short notice, unfairly impacting thousands of passengers travelling to/from Belgium – many of whom are now stranded at Charleroi and Zaventem Airports," O'Leary added.
"There is no need for passengers to suffer short notice cancellations due to Belgian ATC strikes. If controllers must strike, they should provide fair notice to airlines, so we can re-organise schedules to minimise the impact of these ATC strikes on ordinary citizens who pay for these high priced but low service ATC.
"It is unacceptable that European citizens are once again being held to ransom by a tiny number of ATC controllers engaging in recreational strikes without fair notice.
"Ryanair has repeatedly called on the EU Commission to reform Europe’s broken ATC system to protect passengers from these ATC strikes, but 'Useless Ursula' von der Leyen continues to sit on her hands doing nothing while a tiny number of European Air Traffic Controllers once again hold European citizens to ransom with today’s zero notice strikes."
Airlines most affected by European flight disruption
- Lufthansa: 254 delays and 90 cancellations (mainly Frankfurt and Munich)
- Ryanair: 225 delays and 82 cancellations (including Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester, Lisbon, and Rome)
- easyJet: 240 delays and 19 cancellations (including Manchester, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Rome, and Milan)
- KLM: 162 delays and 26 cancellations (mainly Amsterdam Schiphol)
- ITA Airways: 114 delays and 4 cancellations (mainly Rome and Milan)
- Turkish Airlines: 103 delays and 10 cancellations (mainly Istanbul and Brussels)
- Vueling: 100 delays and 7 cancellations (mainly Barcelona, Paris Orly, and Brussels)
- TAP Air Portugal: 91 delays and 2 cancellations (mainly Lisbon)
What impacted passengers can do
Passengers affected by flight disruptions are advised to stay in close contact with their airline and regularly check for updates on their flight status.
Allowing extra time at the airport and remaining flexible with travel plans can help minimise inconvenience, while keeping travel documents and booking details easily accessible may speed up any rebooking or rerouting process.
Travellers should also familiarise themselves with their airline’s compensation and passenger-rights policies and stay informed about weather or operational issues that could affect their journey.
Anish Vij