Source: Schengen Visa Info
With the removal of Coronavirus travel restrictions, air travel to, from and throughout Europe is slowly returning to normality, with the European Travel Commission (ETC) predicting that 70 per cent of the pre-pandemic travel in the continent will recover this year.
The return of travellers has, however, found many airlines unprepared due to the lack of workers that they had laid off at the beginning of the pandemic, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
As a result, the world, and in particular Europe, have seen a wave of flight cancellations and delays, disrupting the travel plans of millions worldwide, leaving them stranded for hours in airports or even stuck unable to return home on time.
The number of flights cancelled and delayed in the months of summer is higher than ever, and travellers are now being advised to avoid crowded airports and to try booking with airlines with which the chances of having a flight cancelled or delayed are lower.
Newly released data from Hopper Inc, a Goldman-backed online travel agency, show that Brussels airport and the Frankfurt International Airport have the highest number of delayed flights for July, while the latter also has the highest number of cancelled flights.
“Both airlines and airports across Europe have struggled to meet the surging demand for travel resulting from nearly two years of closed borders and depressed travel during the highest waves of the covid-19 pandemic,” points out a press release issued by Hopper Inc alongside the data.
According to the same, the top ten airports with the highest number of delayed flights for July are the following:
-Brussels Airport (BRU), Brussels, Belgium – 72 per cent delayed, 2.5 per cent cancelled
-Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), Frankfurt, Germany – 68 per cent delayed, 7.8 per cent cancelled
-Eindhoven Airport (EIN), Eindhoven, Netherlands – 67 per cent delayed, 1.8 per cent canceled
-Luton Airport (LTN), London, United Kingdom – 66 per cent delayed, 2.7 per cent cancelled
-Liszt Ferenc International Airport (BUD), Budapest, Hungary – 65 per cent delayed, 2.1 per cent cancelled
-Lisbon Airport (LIS), Lisbon, Portugal – 65 per cent delayed, 4.8 per cent cancelled
-Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG), Paris, France – 62 per cent delayed, 3.1 per cent cancelled
-Schiphol Airport (AMS), Amsterdam, Netherlands – 61 per cent delayed, 5.2 per cent cancelled
-Cote D’Azur Airport (NCE), Nice, France – 60 per cent delayed, 3.4 per cent cancelled
-Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, United Kingdom – 59 per cent delayed, 1.4 per cent cancelled
The press release also includes a list of the ten top airports in Europe with the lowest number of cancelled and delayed, four of which are located in Spain, as follows:
-Bergamo/Orio al Serio Airport (BGY), Bergamo, Italy – three per cent delayed, one per cent cancelled
-Gran Canaria Airport (LPA), Gran Canaria, Spain – eight per cent delayed, 0.3 per cent cancelled
-Otopeni International Airport (OTP), Bucharest, Romania – ten per cent delayed, 1.7 per cent cancelled
-Dublin International Airport (DUB), Dublin, Ireland – 15 per cent delayed, 1.6 per cent cancelled
-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), Catania, Italy – 16 per cent delayed, 1.1 per cent cancelled
-Adolfo Suarez-Barajas Airport (MAD), Madrid, Spain – 19 per cent delayed, 0.4 per cent canceled
-Alicante Airport (ALC), Province of Alicante, Spain – 20 per cent delayed, 3.4 per cent cancelled
-Marseille Airport (MRS), Marseille, France – 20 per cent delayed, 2.0 per cent cancelled
-Orly Field (ORY), Paris, France, 21 per cent delayed, 1.2 per cent cancelled
-Malaga Airport (AGP), Malaga, Spain, 24 per cent delayed, 3.3 per cent cancelled
The press release also advises travellers to avoid flying on weekend days since those are the days with most crowds at the airports. It rather suggests that Monday and Tuesday are the best days for departure from the busy European airports.
