Overview

• easyJet attributes 49% of its summer flight delays to French air traffic control, marking a 77% increase from last year.
• Ryanair reports over 33,000 delays this year linked to French airspace restrictions and controller absences, including weekend “recreational strikes.”
• Eurocontrol warns its 37,000-flight daily capacity will be exceeded by a 5% rise in traffic, heightening delay risks across Europe.
• France accounted for half of all network delays last week as pandemic-era retirements and slow recruitment leave air traffic control understaffed.
• Carriers are pressing Brussels to protect overflights during strikes and accelerate the Single European Sky to expand cross-border capacity.