Ryanair issues 'excessive flight delays' warning to passengers

Ryanair has issued an apology for "excessive flight delays" across services to and from European destinations. The budget airline said on Wednesday, August 14, these delays are due to European air traffic control staff shortages.

Ryanair hit out at these air traffic control services and said they "continue to underperform, despite flight volumes being 5% lower than 2019 levels", with "repeated staff shortages". Today, 18% of Ryanair's first wave departures, some 105 of 583 aircraft, were delayed.

A spokesperson for the airline has called the repeated delays "unacceptable" and added: "We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control." The European ATC system faces multiple challenges at the moment, including a faster than predicted recovery of traffic after the pandemic, high seasonal demand, and restricted air space, according to ATC Network.

It added: "Fatigue and system limits are being stretched after years of underinvestment. As predicted the shortage of air traffic control officers (ACTOs) and other staff cannot be addressed quickly enough to meet the continuous and growing demand. As a reminder, it takes an average of three years to train an ATCO, while the number of applications remain insufficient (lately).

Ryanair has long criticised the performance of European ATC and blamed it for delays to more than 30% of its 3,500 flights on June 27.