Europe is on the brink of a massive travel disorder. Widespread strikes during the busiest travel season appear to be causing the European airline industry some difficulty.
Industrial action has already begun at airports in France, the UK, and Switzerland, affecting travelers using Ryanair Holdings Plc, Air France-KLM, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG. However, the bigger crisis is that employees at the organization responsible for coordinating Europe’s air routes may go on strike, which would result in delays and possibly cancellations.
The network management operations center’s employee union, according to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, or Eurocontrol, has threatened to hold strikes that might last up to six months.
Although the exact date of the action has not yet been disclosed, Eurocontrol acknowledged that it was in talks with Union Syndicale Bruxelles and that a statement would likely be made on Monday.
The operations centre coordinates capacity and works with airports and national air traffic control organizations to ensure a smooth flow of flights even during periods of peak activity, which gives insight into the severity of the impending crisis. The operations centre also manages traffic along the continent’s busy air routes.
It oversees 10 million flights annually and receives 96,000 messages daily.
As Europe is on the brink of massive travel disorder, meanwhile, the transport workers’ union Union Syndicale Bruxelles (USB) demanded more controllers be hired immediately and claimed its demands were “lawful, strong, and fair” in a letter to managers.
Raul Medina, director-general of Eurocontrol, on the other hand, had earlier issued a warning that the conflict in Ukraine had reduced the amount of airspace available for travel and urged everyone to contribute to the summer’s success.
A spokeswoman added that Eurocontrol is working tirelessly to maintain the lines of communication open and find a positive path forward.
In addition to affecting flights into and out of the country where they occur, air traffic control strikes force airlines to reroute other planes so as to avoid that country’s airspace, which, if detected, might cause major mayhem.
A disturbance in one area might spread quickly and cause a domino effect since aircraft operations depend on precise, quick-turnaround takeoff and landing.
Air traffic control strikes in France led to the cancellation of almost 900 flights in June, according to airline Ryanair. However, official information on the Eurocontrol strike could be released on Monday.
