DUBAI: UK holidaymakers are bracing for the worst air traffic control (ATC) delays in 25 years, with 30 million passengers expected to be affected between June and August.
Aviation experts warn that the situation is even more severe than last year, which saw the worst delays since 2001, largely due to staff shortages.
Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, voiced strong criticism, telling The Independent: “It will be worse than last summer, particularly at weekends. Europe needs to fix what is a broken air traffic control system, which we pay ridiculously expensive fees for.”
A detailed analysis of the 2024 Eurocontrol Performance Review Report paints a concerning picture. Last summer, one in three flights to, from, and within the UK arrived at least 15 minutes late – the aviation industry’s threshold for a delayed flight. With an estimated 90 million passengers flying to or from UK airports between June and September 2025, at least 30 million are likely to be delayed.
ATC staffing shortages
While adverse weather contributes to many delays, a major factor is the shortage of air traffic controllers. The Eurocontrol report suggests that some delays attributed to weather might, in fact, be due to staffing constraints. The report notes that air navigation service providers (ANSPs) face financial penalties for capacity-related delays but not for weather-related ones – potentially incentivising misclassification of delays.
Dr Peter Whysall, who conducted the review, warned that the constraints caused by staffing issues are “a cause for concern” and that performance is “likely to get worse unless structural issues are addressed.”
Pilots regularly report being instructed to remain on the ground due to staffing shortages at key “area control centres” across Europe. Eurocontrol identified the worst-performing control centres, ranking them by the percentage of delays they caused:
- Karlsruhe (Germany): 13.1 percent
- Budapest (Hungary): 12.9 percent
- Marseille (France): 7 percent
- Zagreb (Croatia): 6.5 percent
- Reims (France): 6 percent
Financial and operational impact
The impact of these delays goes beyond inconvenience for travellers. Airlines are responsible for customer care, including rebooking flights and providing compensation, even when delays stem from ATC failures. Air France-KLM’s chief executive, Ben Smith, pointed out that France alone faces a 20-25 percent shortage of air traffic controllers, adding: “Many of our flights are going to be delayed, and we already know this.”
At major UK airports, additional ATC delays only compound the problem. Heathrow and Gatwick have the highest “arrival sequencing and metering” delays due to congestion. On average, aircraft arriving at Heathrow spend seven-and-a-half minutes queueing in the air, while at Gatwick, the wait is six minutes.
The European Commission has acknowledged that insufficient airspace capacity “leads to long delays and difficulties for passengers.” The Commission further stated that these delays increase airline costs and contribute to the aviation sector’s carbon footprint due to less fuel-efficient flight patterns.
O’Leary, frustrated by the inefficiency of the system, argued that even an online flight-tracking service could handle part of ATC operations. The Independent reports that he stated: “Flightradar24 could provide most of the air traffic control service across Europe free of charge.”