Summer In Europe: Long Lines, Delays And Cancellations Expected — Again

It won’t be as chaotic as last summer. Nevertheless, air transportation experts are expecting trouble, with a record surge of travelers to Europe in summer 2023, making it the biggest season of travel in recent years just as serious labor disputes spread.

According to an Iata survey of travelers from 11 countries, the air travel demand is up 35% over last year. Such strong ticket sales demonstrate the eagerness of people to travel. It also opens the way to some questions:

Have airports and airlines corrected the mistakes of last year when chaos was the rule? And with travel demand surging, will lines, delays and cancellations dominate summer 2023?

Europe has had a year to recover from the mayhem during the 2022’s peak summer season. “The travel and tourism industry has marked significant improvement recently, thus recovering from the devastating situation caused by the Coronavirus and its new variants,” according to an IATA report.

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If a repeat of last year’s chaos is unlikely, there still will be disruptions, with many delays and cancellations as airports and airlines continue to reckon with the strain on Europe’s travel infrastructure plus the increase of passengers. At the same time, they need to ramp up hiring to get back at least to their 2019 employment levels while dealing with serious labor disputes.

Airports are trying to combat issues of understaffing with measures such as passenger caps, hoping to reduce the risk of lengthy queues at security, check-in and passport control.

“A lot of work has gone into preparing for the peak Northern summer travel season,” said IATA’s senior vice president for operations, safety and security, Nick Careen. Yet, disruptions are expected, with labor unrest in many European countries and particularly in France.

The air traffic management body Eurocontrol added more worries to the list: “Getting closer to pre-pandemic traffic levels will not be easy against a backdrop of supply chain issues, possible industrial action, airspace unavailability, sector bottlenecks, rising demand and system changes.”

Demand Spikes and High Prices

The European Travel Commission (ETC) forecasts strong demand for European vacations in 2023,

Demand spikes drive prices higher for air tickets, accommodations, tours and activities.

With the widespread growth of travel anticipated for the upcoming summer period, IATA says that “additional challenges are expected, including ongoing airspace constraints due to the war in Ukraine, potential disruptions from labor strikes, and lengthening delays in aircraft deliveries.”

The association disclosed that the total air traffic in March 2023 increased by 52.4 % compared to the same month last year. International traffic rose 68.9 %, with all markets worldwide registering a “healthy growth.”

Transatlantic travel is booming this summer, with demand exceeding the most optimistic forecasts. And for that, there is a price to pay.

Along with the strikes, experts are predicting high costs. “Summer vacation is coming. Get ready to empty your wallet,” the Washington Post warns. “It’s going to be hot, crowded and expensive.”

Industrial Action

“Europe is a hive of strike action right now,” Euronews reported, “with many employees unhappy that sky-high inflation has not been matched by higher wages.”

According to Time, “industrial action is expected to ripple across Europe on multiple days and in many countries.”

In Paris, for example, tourists wanting to gaze at the Mona Lisa instead saw a crowd of protestors blocking museum entrances amid ongoing demonstrations by union workers sweeping the city. “The protests are the latest disruptions for those traveling to Europe, as aviation, railway, and bus workers continue to strike over poor pay, working conditions, and other government policies,” Time reported.

“Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary told a press conference that the aviation industry needed to ‘pull out all the stops’ against a litany of potential issues this coming summer,” Euronews reported. “He reckons that this summer will once again be characterised by delays and cancellations.”

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French Air Traffic Control (ATC) strikes have already made flying difficult in the first half of this year, affecting flights around Europe.

Ryanair said that the first four months of 2023 saw more than 50 days of ATC strikes leading to more than 3,700 cancelled flights and affecting more than 666,000 passengers.

“Strikes in France have such a big impact because its central European location means that many flights make their way over France on their journey to other destinations,” Euronews explained.

Ryanair's O’Leary keeps warning that further walkouts risk “shutting everyone down” if the current dispute over pensions continues into the summer.

The Strikes, By Country

SchengenVisaInfo.com and Euronews have compiled lists of the countries that will be dealing with strikes in the upcoming days and weeks:

Belgium

Belgium is expected to be flooded by unhappy workers who will take to the streets to protest against assaults on workers’ right to strike and social dumping. This practice describes employers that use cheaper labour than it is available in order to reduce costs.

This is expected to cause disruptions to the buses, trams and metro, according to Brussels’ main transport operator, STIB-MIVB.

Italy

Due to floods in Emilia-Romagna, union strikes have been postponed until June 4. However, two unions, CUB and USB, went on with their protest on May 19, which caused ITA to cancel 113 domestic flights, forcing passengers to rebook other flights. USB is protesting against precarious work contracts and low salaries.

There will be a 24-hour ground handling strike at Italian airports on June 4.

The action is over employment contracts for handling staff. Unions say pay and conditions have not improved in the last six years.

Because at least four of Italy's largest transport workers unions will take part in the strike, the protest is expected to cause disruption at all of Italy's major airports, especially at check-in desks and baggage collection areas.

Spain

The Spanish Airline Pilots Union (SEPLA) is calling for a fresh wave of strike days for pilots at Air Europa. They walked out from May 22 to 26 and 29 to 30, then again from June 1 to 2. These will take place at all of the airline's bases of operation and workplaces in Spain.

The union has warned that strikes “will be extended in the coming months if the company refuses to negotiate a fair agreement.”

Pilots represented by SEPLA at other airlines in Spain, including Ryanair and Easyjet, are also considering strike action this summer. Air traffic controllers, flight attendants, and other staff members may join the walkouts.

Workers are protesting against the Spanish Ministry of Transport, which has implemented a law that requires at least 90 % of flights to be operated regardless of ongoing industrial actions.

France

French protesters against increasing the legal retirement age have called another nationwide protest for June 6, as the French parliament’s National Assembly meets on June 8.

Some flights around Europe may be cancelled, while some tourist destinations will close for security reasons.

The latest disruption for passengers occurred when air traffic controllers joined an unprecedented wave of industrial action against President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular reforms raising the age of retirement from 62 to 64.

Additionally, tens of thousands of people are striking in various French cities as part of their workers’ unions, which includes train, metro and bus drivers.

European airlines have warned that this may delay planes landing, taking off or flying over French airspace. While French law dictates domestic flights must continue during strikes, international flights entering French airspace are not similarly protected. RyanAir is asking customers to sign a petition urging the European Commission to keep the skies open.

Germany

As a precautionary measure, German carrier Lufthansa announced that it intends to cancel 34,000 flights this summer, Timeout reported. Routes from Frankfurt and Munich will be affected by thousands of cancellations.

Lufthansa says that staff shortages are to blame for the cuts to its summer schedule, though the airline has also been hit by recent strikes.

Two of the country’s largest unions went on strike in March to demand higher pay at airports, ports, railways, underground services, and buses, leading Lufthansa Airlines to ground its flights through March 28. More unplanned flight cancellations are expected this summer.

Norway

Air travelers flying from, to or through Denmark’s Copenhagen airport have been advised to be prepared this summer for potential flight delays and cancellations due to the lack of air traffic controllers.

United Kingdom

There will be nationwide strikes affecting most train companies on June 2 and 3. Passengers are warned to expect significant disruption as it is likely to result in little or no services across large areas of the network.

While some airports have said that they have recruited enough staff to meet demand, strikes may replace staff shortages as the biggest concern this summer.

Heathrow Airport has asked airlines to stop adding extra flights to their schedules during the peak season to avoid chaos this summer. It saw more growth than any other airport in the world following the return of travel but warned that this was “challenging operationally.”

“The most important thing for travelers to pack when going to Europe is their patience,” Michael Holtz, Founder, and CEO of SmartFlyer told Time.

When planning your summer trip this year, better have a viable Plan B on your smartphone.

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