Summers come and go but the problems remain the same in the European sky. Many airports are still operating on a just-in-time basis due to congested airspace. Repeated strikes by air traffic controllers in several countries are adding to the difficulties.
This is howeasyJet has just announced that it has cancelled 1,700 flights between July and September.. Or some 180,000 passengers affected. The majority of cancellations relate to airport London Gatwickone of the carrier's main bases in the UK. In France, 17 cities are linked to Gatwick airport in this wayin particular Paris CDG, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Marseille, Nice, Rennes and Toulouse. Basel-Mulhouse, Brussels, Geneva and Luxembourg also have flights to this hub south of London.
The company blames " unprecedented delays in air traffic control "and declared that it was a question of " preventive adjustments" . But according to The Independent, it would appear that easyJet does not have a sufficient number of drivers to cover its summer programme. Hence the cascade of cancellations.
But the company wants to be reassuring. The number of cancelled flights, even if it seems enormous, only represents less than 2% of its offer in July and August.. It states that the cancellations only concern routes with several daily frequencies. EasyJet states that it has already rebooked 95% passengers on new flights. Some 9,000 of the low-cost carrier's passengers are still waiting for an alternative solution.
The company also announced thatFrom December, it will launch two weekly flights between Lyon and Liverpool and between Geneva and London Southend.. Frequencies on these two lines are Wednesdays and Saturdays.
