Hundreds of flights cancelled due to strikes and lack of staff in Europe: Airports, affected

Flight cancellations caused chaos at airports due to strikes and staff shortages in European countries, including France, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, with thousands of people are waiting at airports. So which airports were affected by the cancellation of flights?

Flight cancellations are ongoing due to a lack of airport staff in the UK. Today, British Airways has cancelled more than 100 flights from London’s Heathrow Airport, while Easy Jet and Wizz Air are also unable to operate some of their flights due to problems at Gatwick Airport.

Decommissioned flights out of Gatwick Airport include flights to Copenhagen, Dubrovnik and Nice. In addition, dozens of flights leaving the UK have been cancelled due to strikes by airport traffic control officers in Italy. It seems that thousands of people were waiting at airports due to last-minute cancellations.

The travel sector in the country is facing problems caused by staff shortages and sick leave. It is also stated that the lack of personnel is largely due to the fact that those who were terminated during the Covid-19 pandemic period found new jobs and did not want to return to the aviation sector again.

Another element is that European employees are returning to their countries due to Brexit, and new ones cannot come because of the heavy visa requirements. The British government, on the other hand, accuses the aviation sector of not making adequate preparations for the aftermath of the outbreak.

FRANCE

In France, a quarter of the morning flights were canceled due to a strike by the staff of the Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport.

THEY WANT A RAISE

A quarter of flights between 07.00 and 14.00 could not be made due to the strike of Charles De Gaulle Airport staff in the capital Paris at the urging of many unions, French media reported. Striking employees are asking for a 300 euro increase in their wages against inflation.

The French General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) has requested airlines to reduce the number of flights Dec 07.00 to 14.00.

BELGIUM

Brussels Airlines, the flag carrier airline of Belgium, decided to reduce the number of flights during the summer period after the threat of a strike by trade unions.

The unions warned that flight crews may go on strike, especially during the holiday period, due to problems with rest periods, working hours, workloads and wages. Following this warning, Brussels Airlines announced that it had canceled 148 flights across Europe in order to ease the workload of employees during the summer period.

Decommissioned flights were selected from several flights a day or from places where alternative flights are available. The company explained that the cancellation decision was not related to staff shortages, less than one percent of passengers were affected by this situation, and those with tickets were contacted on the flights in question.

Pilots of Brussels Airlines also warned that they could go on strike for 3 days at the end of June. Pilots whose wages were reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic want their working conditions and wages to be improved.

NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport authorities are having difficulty finding solutions to the ongoing intensity since April.

Despite the fact that the strike of the ground service officers of Royal Dutch Airlines KLM started on the morning of April 23 ended, KLM announced that it was canceling close to 50 daily flights due to the intensity of last week’s Pentecost holiday.

Despite KLM’s announcement that it is returning to scheduled flights from the beginning of the week, security queues and delays at the airport continue.