Ryanair and Wizz Air have said that they will not be altering their summer flight schedules like easyJet, and have taken measures to mitigate the potential chaos caused by air traffic control delays, The Telegraph has reported.
The statement comes after easyJet revealed it would cancel 1,700 flights across the summer due to air traffic control delays. It said that 95 per cent of the 180,000 passengers affected had been booked onto other flights.
Ryanair stated that it will maintain its full schedule of 3,200 daily flights throughout the summer and noted that it is fully staffed for the season. Wizz Air, on the other hand, has doubled its operations team and increased its plane crew by 10 percent. It has also added 11 percent extra aircraft capacity and implemented an AI tool to better forecast and mitigate disruptions.
Citing easyJet’s flight cancellations, Ryanair said that there was a need for urgent air traffic control reform in Europe. Ryanair had previously submitted a petition to the European Commission, signed by over 1.2 million passengers, highlighting the impact of French ATC strikes.
‘These easyJet cancellations again highlight the urgent need for ATC reform in Europe to protect overflights, Ryanair said. ‘We call again on Ursula von der Leyen to take action to protect overflights in response to Ryanair’s petition which was signed by over 1.2 million fed up passengers and was submitted to her office on May 31, over six weeks ago.’
Ryanair and Wizz Air have strengthened their staff numbers to mitigate potential issues caused by air traffic control delays and strikes. British Airways had previously recruited 3,000 additional staff members in preparation for the summer season.
Airlines have a number of challenges this summer, including airspace reduction due to the Russia-Ukraine war and strikes by air traffic control staff. French Air Traffic Control strikes, in particular, have caused significant disruptions, as planes are unable to fly over French airspace during the strikes, the report noted.
