By Joanna Plucinska
LONDON (Reuters) – Strikes across Europe have led to a rise in flight cancellations, delays and reduced bookings in cities such as Paris, data from travel firms showed, despite efforts by airlines. to avoid a repeat of last year’s disruptions.
Flight cancellations and delays of more than three hours in Europe increased in 2022 and 2019 during the Easter weekend from April 5-11, especially in France and Britain, according to data from the company AirHelp flight claim management.
“The situation quickly worsened as France fell into the pension reform crisis. Charles de Gaulle airport was negatively affected, both as a destination and as a hub,” said Olivier Ponti, VP of Insights at travel data firm ForwardKeys.
In France, where air traffic control staff have been on strike in recent weeks, 62% of flights were on time, compared with 75% in 2022 and 76% in 2019 before the The pandemic has brought international travel to a standstill, Airhelp data shared by Reuters shows.
About 33,300 flights were canceled this year due to Easter, compared to 7,800 last year, while 9,000 flights were delayed by more than three hours, compared to 6,800 last year.
Transfers and planned stays through Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport fell by nearly 75% compared to 2019 levels in mid-March, according to ForwardKeys.
Paris airports operator Aeroports de Paris estimated on Monday that it had lost around 470,000 passengers between January and March due to strikes.
In Britain, border strikes have also caused disruption at airports across the country, with London airports facing the most delays, according to AirHelp.
Approximately 73% of flights were on time, compared to 76% in 2022 and 81% in 2019. There were 33,700 flights canceled, compared to 26,600 last year, while 10,800 flights, which made up 1% of all flights, were delayed by more than three hours, up from 9,500 last year.
PAYOUTS OF PASSENGER RIGHTS
Continued disruptions from the protracted labor dispute could lead to rising costs for airlines that have worked hard to ease the problems, leading some CEOs to call on the European Commission to intervene. .
This year’s Easter holiday is seen as a major test of the industry’s ability to cope with the influx of travelers following the increase in staff.
But there is a particular concern that continued strikes could lead to a decline in tourist traffic, which is set to return to pre-pandemic levels this summer.
Tickets from Europe to Charles de Gaulle airport fell by 30% compared to 2019 in the week of March 16, ForwardKeys said, although they fell by only 8% from the United States.
And the strikes look poised to continue. President Macron on Saturday signed into law an unpopular bill to raise the state pension age, angering unions that have called for months of protests, which began in January of this year, to continue.
In Germany, Hamburg Airport canceled all departures on Thursday and Friday due to a strike by security control workers called by the union Verdi.
Air traffic authority Eurocontrol previously warned that delays could continue into the northern hemisphere summer, especially if strikes continue.
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said last month it was a “scandal” that the French strikes had blocked many flights in French airspace, disrupting services between various countries including busy tourist market between Britain and Spain.
According to European passenger rights rules, airline customers who face delays of several hours are entitled to compensation, a sore point for airlines struggling with razor-thin flights. margin.
The airlines say that airports and other stakeholders should also pay compensation to consumers so that the burden is not entirely on them.
(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Josephine Mason and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)