Europe’s leading airlines have called on the European Commission to take action over air traffic control (ATC) strikes impacting their businesses this summer.
This year, so far, strikes in Europe have resulted in over 3 000 flight cancellations and 23 000 flight delays, affecting over 10 million passengers.
According to Aviation 24, the airlines are calling on the commission to stop escalating industrial action from derailing summer travel for millions of passengers. EU airline association, Airlines for Europe (A4E), says that this can be achieved through:
- Mandatory arbitration before ATC unions can threaten strike action;
- A 21-day advance notification of strike action;
- Providing a 72-hour advance individual notification of participation in industrial action;
- Protection of overflights, ensuring this is not at the expense of departures and arrivals in the country where the strike originates; and
- Right of redress with air navigation service providers over the impact of disruption.
“While we respect the right to strike, the ripple effect of disruptions impacting flights between unrelated member states is untenable. Millions of Europeans are eager to travel this summer, and strikes stand to shatter their plans,” said acting A4E MD Laurent Donceel.
“We present a simple action plan to the European Commission to minimise passenger disruption this summer. It’s high time the commission took decisive action to ensure smoother skies for the months ahead.”
