European aviation industry has been focused on avoiding any delays this summer

European airlines, airport and air traffic controllers have implemented extensive changes across their businesses in an effort to ensure that there is not a repeat of last year’s summer disruption for passengers. 

According to the Financial Times, airlines have made efforts to improve their flexibility in schedules, while there have been efforts to reduce the risk of air traffic strikes.  

Coming into this year, airlines such as British Airways have been under pressure to improve their performance after delays last year. Only 60% of flights at London Heathrow were on time last year. 

There has been a closer working relationship between Airlines and Eurocontrol, who oversees Europe’s airspace and national air navigation providers. In particular, as the FT reports, there is a focus on ensuring that the first wave of morning flights leaves on time from European airports. 

71% of flights in Europe landed within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time last year, a figure similar to 2022 figures, but down 7% from 2019 according to Eurocontrol data. 

However, there is a threat of air traffic control delays in the summer, with one-fifth of Europe’s skies closed off following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, meaning tens of thousands of flights a day are compressed into a smaller airspace over south-east Europe. 

UK airlines have been coming off a rather busy period during the Easter Weekend. Analysis by ALPS Aviation showed that there was 2339 flights over the Easter Weekend, with Dublin and Amsterdam the most popular destinations. Only time will tell how they handle the peak summer travel season.