Warning issued over European flight delays
Print Edition
The number of European flights delayed by up to two hours is set to rise seven-fold by 2040 due to greater travel demand and a lack of capacity on the ground and in the air to keep up with the growth, European network manager Eurocontrol said.
Eurocontrol, which manages Europe’s air traffic network, said in a report on Tuesday that flights in its region are due to increase 53 percent by 2040, but that airport capacity is set to rise by only 16 percent.
It predicts that by 2040, around 470,000 passengers per day will be delayed by up to two hours, compared with around 50,000 passengers today.
Airports therefore need to construct more runways or deploy technology to make better use of the runways, Eurocontrol Director General Eamonn Brennan said. “By 2040, there will be 1.5 million flights we can’t handle, that’s 160 million passengers who can’t fly,” he said on the sidelines of the ACI airports conference in Brussels.
Plans for a new runway at London Heathrow were earlier this month backed after decades of delay, although the project could still face challenges before building starts.
“It’s nearly impossible to build a runway in Europe today,” Brennan told the conference.
Europe is already struggling to cope this year, he added. Airlines have squarely blamed air traffic control for recent flight delays, citing strikes in France and staff shortages.
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