Airlines brace for potential summer disruptions due to ATC issues

Many issues plaguing Europe also affect the United States. The FAA has identified a shortage of up to 3,000 air traffic controllers and fatigue among existing staff is a concern. Last summer saw US air traffic jams and near collisions amid coordination challenges.

According to the Guardian, "extreme weather has been arguably the biggest headache for the travel industry so far," disrupting flights significantly in both Europe and the US.

Last summer saw an unprecedented meltdown in UK air traffic that delayed or canceled hundreds of thousands of passengers' flights. This year raises concerns about a repeat as people flock for vacations again.

As global travel rebounds from the pandemic, some airports like Stansted and Manchester in the UK report record numbers. Heathrow had its busiest day on June 30 with 282,207 flights scheduled from June through August—just below pre-pandemic peaks.

The Financial Times reported that last month passengers experienced a cumulative 4.7 million minutes of flight delays—up almost a third from last year—due to strong traffic growth combined with adverse weather conditions.

Passenger numbers are up around 6% over last year in the US. Airlines for America stated that US carriers are adding about another 1,400 flights daily compared to 2023 figures despite Boeing's manufacturing delays impacting aircraft availability.