The aviation sector in Europe is bracing for Easter travel disruptions caused by strikes and flight cancellations, a major test of the industry’s ability to prevent a repeat of the chaos caused during last year’s summer holiday season.

Strikes in France, Portugal, Britain and Germany in recent weeks could disrupt air travel in parts of Europe during the Easter holiday, airline, airport and air traffic control officials told Reuters. .

“There will be delays without a doubt,” he says Stephen Moorethe head of air traffic operations at Eurocontrol.

Details of the delays remain unclear but the warnings highlight how vulnerable aviation remains to external pressures despite efforts to avoid a repeat of last year’s queues and cancellations.

Airlines are worried about escalating strike action after months of efforts to address labor shortages through better coordination and hiring more staff to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“I think it’s something that needs to be planned for and we do everything we can to try to limit it. But, of course, it’s very difficult because … sometimes you only get 24 hours’ notice,” says the chief executive. her easyJet Johan Lundgren.

This is not likely to quell the debate about them strict regulations governing passenger compensation in the EU.

The airlines argue that they are being asked to pay compensation without being compensated for the delays.

Consumer groups counter that air traffic control strikes are not a new phenomenon and airlines should react more quickly and pay compensation.

THE European Organization of Consumers (BEUC) said prepayments for airline tickets should be phased out, especially during times of disruption, as airlines often spend that money quickly leaving consumers scrambling for months to get their money back.

The specter of further delays has emerged as France is rocked by the latest wave of national protests over pension reform.

Strikes in France alone have caused thousands of hours of delays so far — sometimes 70,000 minutes of delays in one day — according to data released Eurocontrol.

If a flight is delayed early in the morning, there are multiple effects as planes arrive later and take off later from their destination airports, causing systemic problems.

Since March 13, France’s civil aviation authority DGAC has been demanding almost daily that airlines cut their flights by 20% to 30% at several airports, including Paris’s second-largest airport, Orly.

The CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has pointed out that these strikes are disrupting airlines’ ability to fly through French airspace, where overflights account for about 15% of European traffic, according to Eurocontrol.

He last week called on the European Commission to do more to stop such overflight strikes by introducing minimum service rules, although industry experts say strikes are a national issue.

The disruptions coincide with a recovery in travel demand. Departures from Britain over the Easter weekend are expected to rise by 11% compared to last year and by 650% from 2021, although they will remain around 13% lower than before the pandemic, according to Cirium figures .

And there is little sign of compromise in France.

Fabrice Criquet, secretary general of the Force Ouvriere union at Paris airport operator ADP, said the only way to return to normal was for the president’s government to withdraw Emmanuel Macron the reform of the pension system.

“Strikes by definition aim to disrupt business, that’s what they do, we’ve been protesting for months about this pension reform and we will continue to do so,” he told Reuters.

CALL FOR SOLUTIONS

Trade union strikes from various sites have disrupted travel across Germany in recent weeks, with some industry executives calling for a new approach to the disputes to minimize the ongoing problem.

At Frankfurt airport alone, more than 300,000 passengers were unable to travel due to the strikes.

“For us, this meant a significant amount of millions of euros in lost profits,” Frankfurt Airport chief Stefan Schulte told Reuters.

“We have to ask ourselves whether it would be better to have a coordinated ‘truce’ for critical infrastructure. So that we don’t have different strikes at different times, which always affect the overall system so strongly,” he added.

In Portugal, border control officers are due to strike this week as well as train workers.

The Algarve Hotel and Tourism Association called for pre-emptive action, warning that strikes by border inspectors could have a dire impact on the region’s reputation with tourists – a key driver of the Algarve’s economy.

Airlines and airports, which have been criticized by the media and parliaments for their handling of last year’s surge in air travel, say they are hampered by having little to no impact on the growing protests in Europe. Other sectors have also been hit hard.

“[Τα μέλη μας] they are worried, but let’s say they are reasonably worried. They have done a lot of work to ensure that this goes well enough,” said Olivier Jankovec, head of Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe).

“How do you prevent strikes? That’s not something you can really prevent because you can’t get a 20% pay rise like that overnight,” he concludes.