In a fresh setback for holidaymakers, Ryanair has apologised today as numerous flights have been delayed. The airline blamed the delays on issues with European air traffic control that have been affecting services this week.
The carrier described the delays as 'unacceptable'. Today alone, 78 aircraft were affected by problems - following similar issues that impacted easyJet and Wizz Air.
Meanwhile, Jet2 continues to warn of severe storms in the eastern Mediterranean potentially affecting departures from the Balearic Islands. In a statement released today, Ryanair said: "Ryanair, Europe's No.1 airline, on Wed 03 Jul apologised to its passengers for the excessive flight delays caused by European ATC staff shortages today Wed 03 Jul which are affecting all European airlines."
"ATC services, which have had the benefit of no French ATC strike disruption this summer, continue to underperform (despite flight volumes being 5% behind 2019 levels) with repeated "staff shortages". On Wed 03 Jul, 13% of Ryanair's first wave departures (78 of 581 aircraft) were delayed due to ATC "staff shortages". These repeated flight delays due to ATC mismanagement are unacceptable."
"We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair's control.", reports the Express.
Passengers took to X, formerly Twitter to complain, and Sean Boyle said: "Typical @Ryanair at their best delaying flights for hours. Original flight was supposed to 12.50 which was delayed until 13.40 and it’s now 17.30. Absolute joke of an airline! Been in this airport for hours and still got another 5 hour wait."
Martin Deighton added: "Think it’s safe to say I won’t be using @Ryanair or @loveholidays ever again. Both absolutely useless in trying to help after a cancelled flight. Just passing it between each other."
Narinder Nagra said: "@Ryanair why is our flight getting moved from Napoli to Roma when it has nothing to do with the passengers and the flight was 3 hours late to begin with? there has been nothing done to appease the crowd. Everyone is still mad and the plane is still on the tarmac."
Jet2 has recently updated its online guidance, stating: "We are currently experiencing some Air Traffic Control slot delays on flights that are due to arrive, depart or fly across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balearic Islands, this is due to adverse weather conditions (Thunder Storms) in many parts of Eastern Europe."
The airline advised holidaymakers facing inclement weather: "If you are currently on holiday and experiencing bad weather, please allow plenty of time to get to the airport and allow for potential bad road conditions on route. Our UK Based Operations team is working hard to minimise disruption to our flying programme, however, you may experience some disruption if you are travelling to/from areas affected."
Meanwhile, EasyJet was forced to cancel a slew of flights from London Gatwick over the weekend, citing air traffic control restrictions throughout Europe triggered by thunderstorms.
Wizz Air, a major player in the former Yugoslav market, commented on the recent chaos: "In the past few days, the European airspace has been severely impacted due to airport slot management issues, caused by simultaneous weather events throughout Europe. These events have impacted the capabilities of air traffic control authorities and Eurocontrol to manage industry-wide traffic volumes, leading to major delays and cancellations across the European airline industry. Wizz Air was prepared to ensure smooth summer operations for its passengers, however, the air traffic control system seems to be experiencing significant issues this summer".