Fragmented ATC blamed for delays

Peter Bennet/VIENNA

Europe's fragmented air traffic control (ATC) system is to blame for record breaking delays in Europe's airline industry, according to the Association of European Airlines (AEA).

March was the worst month on record for punctuality, with more than a third of intra-European departures delayed, according to AEA figures. This compares with the previous worst month in June 1989, when almost 31% of departures were delayed.

AEA Secretary General Karl-Heinz Neumeister blames the record figures on the fragmented European ATC system.

He welcomes the decision by the European Union to place ATC problems on the agenda of the June transport ministers meeting as a "step in the right direction", but warns it that this is only a beginning.

Delays in the first quarter of this year, aggravated by reorganisation of French and Swiss airspace, were the worst on record, averaging 28%. "What everyone said would happen, happened," says AEA information manager David Henderson. "The disruption was enormous."

Milan Malpensa was the worst-performing airport in the first quarter, with more than half of intra-European departures delayed by more than 15min, followed by Geneva, Munich and Oslo.

Henderson describes the troubles at Malpensa and Oslo as "massive teething problems", but says ATC is the main concern. For example, he says, airports in south-eastern Europe, such as Athens and Istanbul, had among the best results in terms of departure delays, but a poor record in arrival delays, which are the direct result of ATC problems, he adds.

The AEA says that, although the problems in France and Switzerland were the central cause of ATC delays in March, there were also ATC problems in Spain, Greece and northern Italy.

Source:AEA

Source: Airline Business