Tourexpi
Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, today called on
European Commission President Ursula von der “Derlayed-Again” to urgently
reform the EU’s failing air traffic control (ATC) systems after 33 million
passengers have already been affected by ATC-related delays this year.
Releasing its October “ATC Delay League”, Ryanair
reported that France, Spain, Germany and the UK continue to provide Europe’s worst-performing
ATC services, suffering the highest number of delays and cancellations due to
ongoing mismanagement and chronic staff shortages.
Some countries show it can be done
Ryanair highlighted that there is no excuse for these
persistent failures, since Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and
Denmark operate their ATC services efficiently – without mismanagement or staff
gaps – and have recorded the lowest levels of delays and cancellations in
Europe this year.
Despite repeated appeals from Ryanair and Airlines for
Europe (A4E) for EU-wide ATC reform, Ursula von der “Derlayed-Again” has
continued to ignore the issue. Ryanair urged all EU passengers to visit the
website “Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight” and demand that the Commission
finally act to fix the broken system by implementing two key measures:
National ATC providers must be fully staffed for the
first wave of morning flights – with financial penalties for failure.
Overflights and the EU Single Market must be protected
during national ATC strikes.
“EU
passengers deserve better” – Michael O’Leary
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said:
“It is unacceptable that Europe’s weakest ATC systems
– in France, Spain, Germany and the UK – continue to inflict avoidable flight
delays and cancellations on millions of EU citizens every month. Despite
repeated warnings, performance is not improving because national ATC providers
fail to staff and manage their operations efficiently.
The EU’s air traffic control system must be urgently
reformed, because passengers are paying the price for this failure. This year
alone, 33 million travellers have suffered ATC-related delays. France, Spain,
Germany and the UK repeatedly fail to deliver reliable service.
Ursula von der Leyen has done nothing to address this
ATC crisis. EU passengers deserve better. It’s time for the European Commission
to act, end this chaos, and protect the freedom of movement for EU citizens.”
Image
Credit: © AA
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