Ryanair has issued an apology for an ‘unacceptable’ level of delays on its flights – and explained why it was happening. The admission came as Jet2 warned of potential delays to flights due to weather this week, and easyJet and Wizz were also forced to make schedule changes.
Ryanair spoke out today (July 1) in a statement after it admitted that passengers had been hit by ‘excessive’ delays over the weekend.
The airline put the blame on air traffic control in Europe – although other carriers like easyJet and Jet2 were also hit – and they highlighted bad weather as a key cause. Ryanair said: “Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, on Mon 01 Jul apologised to its passengers for the excessive flight delays caused by European ATC staff shortages today 01 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 Mon 01 Jul, 19% of Ryanair’s first wave departures (111 of 578 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.
On Sunday, 93 or 16% of its early morning departures were delayed, which the airline described as ‘unacceptable’.
EasyJet was forced to cancel a slew of flights from London Gatwick on Saturday, citing air traffic control restrictions across Europe due to thunderstorms and capacity constraints, as reported by The Independent. This comes after the airline had already cancelled 78 flights on Friday following a British Airways plane’s aborted take-off at Gatwick.
Wizz Air has also chimed in with a warning about ‘significant disruptions’ expected in their flight schedules over the next few days, attributing it to weather conditions and ‘recent ATC challenges’.
Meanwhile, Jet2 alerted passengers today of potential delays and disruptions affecting some of its key Mediterranean routes. Destinations like Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera have been battered by severe thunderstorms, with more predicted to come.
Jet2 advised that the disruptions could persist until Wednesday, July 3, urging travellers to allow extra time for airport journeys and to anticipate difficult driving conditions. In a Monday, July 1 update, Jet2 stated: “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.”
“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.”
The airline urged passengers to confirm their flight times on their website before starting their journey. They stated: “All Jet2.com flights are operating. Where possible we will board flights as close to on time as possible, this will allow us to achieve a departure as soon as we are given clearance from Air Traffic Control. We apologise in advance if this causes an extended wait on board before you depart. Our Friendly Red Team and Crew will keep you updated.”
“For updates, please ensure that your contact details are up to date via ‘Manage My Booking’ as all updates will not only be displayed on this page of the Jet2.com website, we will also SMS and Email affected customers using the details on your booking. You can update your contact details as often as you wish and at any time on the App or our website. We will continue to monitor this situation and look forward to welcoming you on board very soon.”
The area is frequently battered by violent storms – just last month, the Balearic Islands experienced 826 lightning strikes in a single day, accompanied by hailstones measuring 2cm in diameter. The recent bout of extreme weather has wreaked havoc in various locations, including Mallorca where an astonishing 9cm of rain fell in less than an hour on June 11.
The island’s airport, Palma, was forced to temporarily ground flights due to runway flooding, while shocking footage shared on social media depicts rain pouring through the ceiling in the duty-free store.