Airlines Demand Brussels Intervention to Avert Travel Disruption Ahead of Summer Season
With a total of 964,000 signatures being collected so far, Ryanair is demanding more action from Europe’s leaders, and once the petition reaches one million, a response from the Commission is expected to be issued, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The strikes that have occurred in Europe in recent months have caused many delays, disruptions, and limited flights across France, which affected air travelling for other countries as well.
According to Laurent Donceel, the managing director of A4E, which represents airlines such as Lufthansa, Ryanair and Air France-KLM, millions of European tourists are eager to travel this summer, and strikes can affect their plans.
“It’s high time the Commission took decisive action to ensure smoother skies for the months ahead,” Donceel pointed out.
Cases of baggage mishandling rates have also increased as staff shortages and labour disruptions, SITA, an IT and digital services provider in the sector, pointed out.
The trade group also call for mandatory arbitration with air traffic control unions before another strike occurs, in addition to a 21-day advance notice if a strike is going to happen and a three-day individual notice of those participating.
“It is essential that people can travel freely across Europe and to guarantee the proper functioning of the internal market, in full respect of the right to strike. The Commission will continue to liaise further with relevant Member States and stakeholders to improve service continuity in the event of strikes,” a European Commission spokesperson pointed out in response to A4E’s stance.
The recent developments that have rolled in Europe, including strikes, the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, have pushed low-cost airlines to put an end to inexpensive airfares.
Data by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition shows that ticket prices in the country were up by 23.6 per cent last year, in addition to flight prices from the UK being about 18 per cent higher in 2023, as the travel booking website, Kayak pointed out.
Especially after the war in Ukraine, with the sanctions imposed on Russia impacting the prices to increase. EasyJet CEO Johan Lungren has emphasised that the 71 per cent increase in oil costs has affected the airline’s fares to be up by 31 per cent higher in 2023. In addition, fuel represents around 30 per cent of this carrier’s costs, while the increase of some metals and disrupted supply chains has been noticed.
