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We have reached ‘ludicrous peak’ of summer of strikes
Airlines were forced to cancel more than 100 flights to and from Italy last weekend even though a planned strike by Italian air traffic controllers didn’t go ahead.
Unions announced an eight-hour walkout for July 23 on June 20, it was cancelled on July 21, reinstated on July 22 and finally cancelled due to various interventions by the courts and the government later the same evening.
"This is undoubtedly the ludicrous peak of a summer which could make history with a record number of ATC strikes," said Thomas Reynaert, managing director of A4E.
"Even if airlines did their utmost to minimise disruption last weekend, cancellations could not be avoided anymore, and passengers had to suffer from the uncertainty created by Italian air traffic controllers."
Calling on the European Commission and national governments to prevent further disruption, Reynaert added:
"We are not questioning the individual right of workers to take industrial action, but strikes should be the last step not the first one.
"We cannot allow 15,000 air traffic controllers infringing the rights of millions of European travellers. The reputation of Europe is under threat."
Last month, A4E released a new study on the economic impact of ATC strikes in Europe, which showed that between 2010 to 2015 the overall impact of these strikes reduced European Union GDP by up to €9.5 billion.
During that period there were 167 ATC strike days in the EU – one disrupted day every 13 days.
The latest ATC strikes in Greece, Italy, Belgium and France since March this year caused around 4,000 cancellations among A4E members in 2016 and more than one million minutes of delay (more than 16,000 hours) across all airlines operating in European airspace, it said.
Across the EU, ATC strikes occur most frequently in France, followed by Greece, Italy and Portugal and have resulted in 30,000 cancellations and more than six million minutes of delay among A4E airlines from 2010 to 2015.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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