Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight
2024 was a record year for Air Traffic Control (ATC) delays due to National ATCs across Europe being mismanaged and short staffed. Despite these soaring ATC delays, the EU Commission and Transport Ministers – who are responsible for National ATC services – still did not take action to recruit and train sufficient Air Traffic Controllers to manage their ATC services, and as a result, ATC delays will now be even worse in Summer 2025.
What does this mean for passengers like you?
ATCs manage traffic in the sky, including take-offs and landings at airports. The service is paid for by
airlines and passengers, like you, but are the responsibility of National Transport Ministers. If ATCs are
not properly staffed, flight delays for passengers are inevitable.
Europe’s National Transport Ministers must be held accountable for allowing such unnecessary ATC delays to repeatedly occur.
ATC LEAGUE OF DELAYS
| Country | Flights Disrupted | Passengers Impacted | Transport Minister |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 29,744 | 5,353,920 |
Philippe Tabarot
|
| Spain | 18,035 | 3,246,300 |
Óscar Puente
|
| Germany | 8,226 | 1,480,680 |
Patrick Schnieder
|
| UK | 3,100 | 558,000 |
Heidi Alexander
|
| Portugal | 3,071 | 552,780 |
Miguel Pinto Luz
|
| Greece | 2,989 | 538,020 |
Christos Dimas
|
| Austria | 2,345 | 422,100 |
Peter Hanke
|
| Switzerland | 1,652 | 297,360 |
Albert Rösti
|