Holidaymakers have been warned to brace themselves for a second summer of chaos as European industrial action risks more cancellations and price rises at UK airports. Speaking at a press conference, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary says that walkouts by French air traffic controllers and the war in Ukraine risks “shutting everybody down” this summer.
O’Leary says that, since many air routes from the UK fly through French airspace, more British tourists are likely to get caught up in the dispute, even if they’re not flying to France themselves. He added that the pressure will mount on Germany and Italy to deal with the crisis.
The boss also claimed that the return of his airline’s bargain £9.99 flights is unlikely. O’Leary said that passengers won’t be able to bag the cheap deals for at least a year or two but warned that for now until the summer, prices would only rise.
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Eurocontrol, which manages air traffic across Europe, has anticipated “major” delays over the summer. Many passengers will fear a repeat of last year where thousands of flights were cancelled at short notice and passengers were left stranded.
Speaking earlier this week, CEO O’Leary said: “The real pressure will be on Germany because of the situation in Ukraine. Most of southern Poland has been closed off for NATO exercises, so everything going north-south from the Baltic states down to Greece and Italy now has to fly around Germany.
“All the long-haul stuff going to Asia now has to fly down around Germany and across Romania, out over Iran, because they can’t fly over Russia. So there is real pressure on Germany, northern Italy, those kinds of corridors there and that’s going to be a challenge.”
Despite the warnings, it seems that families will not be stopped from jetting off. Ryanair recorded more than 2 million bookings over a weekend. O’Leary said that he believes the surge in sales are due to people choosing to “scrimp and save to protect their holiday” despite the rising cost of living.
He said: "One of the things that has emerged out of Covid is the annual holiday, or the second holiday, or the week in the sun, is no longer being considered by many to be a luxury that we can drop."
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