Thousands of European summer holidays could be at risk this summer after air traffic control revealed their intention to strike.
Dates could be announced as early as Monday after workers at Eurocontrol, which manages European airspace, said they could walk out over pay and rota issues, The Times reported on Friday.
It could see up to 12,600 flights per day delayed or cancelled across Europe, a source told the publication - nearly a third of all European flights. It could also coincide with the school summer holidays.
“In a full-blown strike, 20 to 30 per cent of flights would be at least delayed,” the source said. “They are big numbers.”
Holidaymakers have previously been warned by the agency of a “challenging” summer of flight disruptions owing to “overloaded” air traffic control.
Eurocontrol is expecting to handle about 33,000 flights a day for the next two months, rising to more than 34,000 on Fridays in July and August.
This is an increase of 7% compared with the same period last year.
Under European rules, pilots operating flights in or over Europe must submit a flight plan to Eurocontrol’s operations centre, to make sure no two planes fly with the same “call-sign” are flying in the region.
A letter seen by The Times by the Union Syndicale Bruxelles (USB), which represents EU civil servants, said that its demands included the immediate hiring of 20 more controllers.
“As difficult as industrial action is on everyone, we see no other path forward than to inform you of our decision to progress [with strikes],” it states.
“Our case is lawful, strong and fair, and in the interest of the agency, the network manager, our stakeholders (operational and member states), the flying public at large and ourselves as loyal employees of the agency.”
Stewart Wingate, the chief executive of Gatwick Airport, said that strikes at European air traffic control were the biggest challenge operationally for airlines this summer.
But Raúl Medina, Director General of Eurocontrol, previously said the industry was better prepared than last year.
Speaking at a conference in Barcelona, he said: “Recent industrial action caused many delays across the network.
“We can manage situations like that in quieter periods, but if it happens in the middle of summer, it will be much more challenging. We need to be prepared.”
