London, Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, Nicosia, Warsaw and Zagreb would face the same problems on peak days such as Fridays or weekends.Raúl Medina, Eurocontrol’s director-general, said: “This summer in Europe is challenging as we have less available airspace“Airports need to be well staffed, it is vital [air traffic services] provide enough capacity and airlines stick to their schedules.”
Last year, Eurocontrol warned that 2023 could be “the most challenging year of the last decade” due to the Ukraine conflict,Mr Medina told last week’s Airports Council International in Barcelona that airspace had been slashed by 20 per cent due to increased military activity, leaving some air traffic controllers dealing with a huge spike in traffic from rerouted flights.
Last month, airline leaders at the International Air Transport Association conference said they were concerned about air traffic control disruption in Europe and the United States over the summer.