Long queues, intense inconvenience, successive delays and constant cancellations - this is the daily routine at most airports in northern and western Europe, which are experiencing their own crisis due to staff shortages and a sharp recovery in travel traffic.
Already, one airport after another is cutting the number of flights and passengers per day in an effort to better and more efficiently manage travel flows, which have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
In this context, Hopper Inc, an online travel agency backed by Goldman Sachs, compiled a list of the worst airports in the Old Continent in terms of flight delays and cancellations.
Brussels Airport (BRU) Brussels, Belgium: 72% of flights delayed and 2.5% canceled
Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) Frankfurt, Germany: 68% of flights delayed and 7.8% canceled
Eindhoven Airport (EIN) Eindhoven, Netherlands: 67% of flights delayed and 1.8% canceled
Luton Airport (LTN) London, UK: 66% of flights delayed and 2.7% canceled
Liszt Ferenc International Airport (BUD) Budapest, Hungary: 65% of flights delayed and 2.1% canceled
Lisbon Airport (LIS) Lisbon, Portugal: 65% of flights delayed and 4.8% canceled
Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) Paris, France: 62% of flights delayed and 3.1% canceled
Schiphol Airport (AMS) Amsterdam, Netherlands: 61% of flights delayed and 5.2% canceled
Cote D'Azur Airport (NCE) Nice, France: 60% of flights delayed and 3.4% canceled
Gatwick Airport (LGW) London, United Kingdom: 59% of flights delayed and 1.4% canceled
It is worth noting that the above figures refer to percentages, i.e. what percentage of flights are delayed or cancelled. In absolute terms, the most (in number) delays are recorded at London Heathrow (51%).
On the other hand, of course, there are the airports, which still keep to the schedule, avoiding delays and long queues. These are mainly smaller or regional airports in Europe
Bergamo/Orio al Serio Airport (BGY) Bergamo, Italy: 3% of flights delayed and 1% canceled
Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) Gran Canaria, Spain: 8% of flights delayed and 0.3% canceled
Otopeni International Airport (OTP) Bucharest, Romania: 10% of flights delayed and 1.7% canceled
Dublin International Airport (DUB) Dublin, Ireland: 15% of flights delayed and 1.6% canceled
Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) Catania, Italy: 16% of flights delayed and 1.1% canceled
Adolfo Suarez-Barajas Airport (MAD) Madrid, Spain: 19% of flights delayed and 0.4% canceled
Alicante Airport (ALC) Alicante, Spain: 20% of flights delayed and 3.4% canceled
Marseille Airport (MRS) Marseille, France: 20% of flights delayed and 2% canceled
Orly Field (ORY) Paris, France: 21% of flights delayed and 1.2% canceled
Malaga Airport (AGP) Malaga, Spain: 24% of flights delayed and 3.3% canceled
It should be noted that the main problem in European airports is massive staff shortages.
What exactly happened?
During the pandemic, the administration made numerous layoffs due to restrictions on air travel.
Today, however, when demand has been restored and the sector has returned to normalcy, there is a clear difficulty in re-employing workers, as many of them have turned to other sectors which offer permanence and greater job security.