Ryanair calls for urgent ATC reform in Europe following closure of Eindhoven Airport

Ryanair, apologised yesterday to its passengers for the excessive flight delays and small number of flight cancellations caused by European ATC “staff shortages” and the “equipment failure” in the Netherlands ATC centre on Wednsday 28 August, which are affecting all airlines operating to/from Eindhoven and Amsterdam.

Despite EU flights in 2024 being 5% lower than 2019 levels, and even with the benefit of much fewer French ATC strikes, Europe’s ATC delays are at record levels. Over the last 3 years, Europe’s ATC fees have risen by 21% while staffing and service levels continue to decline. This is unacceptable, and EU Commission President von der Leyen must now take action to urgently improve Europe’s competitiveness by reforming its failing ATC system.

Ryanair’s Chief Ops Officer Neal McMahon said:“It is unacceptable that passengers continue to suffer ATC disruptions as a result of repeated ATC staff shortages and yet another equipment failure in Europe, this time in the Netherlands ATC centre, on 28 August, which has forced the cancellation of 12 Ryanair flights so far this morning.

We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC disruptions, which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control, and we encourage passengers to visit atcruinedourholiday.com to demand that the EU Commission take urgent action to improve Europe’s failing ATC system.”

Yesterday’s disruption grounded all flights to and from Eindhoven Airport until around 5 p.m. (1500 GMT), resulting in the cancellation of over 20 flights. Eindhoven Airport, the second largest in the country, typically handles 100 to 140 flights daily, affecting up to 24,000 passengers.

The article Ryanair calls for urgent ATC reform in Europe following closure of Eindhoven Airport first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.