Summer mayhem for holidaymakers as air traffic control strikes to hit thousands of European flights

Three in ten European flights are at risk of being delayed or canceled this summer after air traffic controllers warned they would strike.

Employees at the European air traffic management agency Eurocontrol reportedly said they would take industrial action during peak summer periods after talks with bosses over pay, staffing and rosters fell through.

Families hoping for a trip abroad must now wait to find out if their flights will be affected, with strike dates to be revealed within days.

The strikes could lead to delays or cancellations of up to 12,600 flights a day across the continent, an industry source said. The times.

They warned: “In a full strike, 20 to 30 percent of flights would be delayed at the very least. They are large numbers.’

Eurocontrol expects to handle 33,000 daily flights over the next eight weeks, rising to more than 34,000 on Friday.

A senior source at an airline told the paper the impact could be “massive and extremely disruptive,” adding that not many contingency plans had been made in the event of a full strike.

According to newspaper sources, a first wave of strikes would be announced on Monday.

Organization officials believe action is now inevitable and will focus on the start of the main school holiday period in England and Europe.

Stewart Wingate, head of Gatwick airport, said European air traffic control strikes were his biggest challenge this summer.

Eurocontrol processes more than 96,000 messages from pilots and airlines every day, all of which require manual checking and inconsistencies to be dealt with.

Every pilot flying in or over Europe must submit a flight plan to Eurocontrol’s operations centre. The center validates the plan and ensures multiple planes in the region don’t have the same “call sign,” a way of identifying planes.

The organization acts as an ‘area network manager’ so that flights can easily cross borders and between air traffic control centres. It is also responsible for landing and departure slots at several European airports.

Union Syndicale Bruxelles (USB), representing EU officials, wrote a letter to managers demanding an immediate hiring of 20 additional controllers – citing a 25 percent staff shortage of about 40 controllers.

Controllers from Europe’s air traffic management body Eurocontrol reportedly said they would take industrial action during peak summer periods after talks with bosses fell through over wages, staffing and rosters (stock photo of air traffic controllers at Munich airport)

The letter stated that the union saw no other option than to continue strikes. But an industry insider said last-minute talks are still underway in the coming weeks with a focus on headcount.

Air traffic control centers across Europe have struggled with recruitment since the pandemic, leading many workers to take early retirement.

Finding new staff for the stressful job, where you are responsible for the lives of thousands of people at once, was a challenge.

This comes after Eurocontrol’s director-general, Raúl Medina, urged airports and air traffic control centers to increase recruitment and asked airlines to stick to their allocated schedules.

He added that airspace in Europe could experience “major overload” of traffic on most days this summer in many busy European areas such as Reims and Marseille in France, Athens in Greece and Budapest in Hungary.

Similar warnings have also been issued for London, Brussels, Nicosia, Warsaw and Zagreb for peak days such as Fridays and weekends in the summer.

This overload can lead to flight delays, as aircraft may be forced to fly longer routes to avoid areas of traffic.

And a Eurocontrol spokesman said they were aware of the strike intentions, but no date had been set yet. They insisted that the body “made every effort to keep negotiations open.”