Ryanair Faces Disruption as Over 350 Flights Canceled Amid Air Traffic Control Issues
Ryanair stated that last month was its best ever in terms of passenger numbers, despite having to cancel hundreds of 350 flights due to a malfunction in Britain’s air traffic control system.
The Irish airline reported on Monday that 63,000 of its passengers were impacted by the disruption that persisted for several days after the UK’s national air traffic services, Nats, was forced to revert to manual flight management following a weeklong computer malfunction.
The temporary failure of ATC services, believed to have been caused by a tainted flight plan, occurred during the August bank holiday, one of the busiest travel periods due to summer vacations.
According to the data company Cirium, nearly 1,600 flights into and out of the United Kingdom were canceled as a result of the problem, with additional cancellations and delays across Europe as aircraft and personnel were left out of position.
There were 31,300 flights on the day of the outage, according to data from industry body Eurocontrol, and Ryanair was still able to report its busiest month ever as travelers returned in droves following the end of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
The airline carried 18.9 million passengers in August, an increase of 11% compared to the same month in 2022. The previous monthly record of 18,7 million was set in July of this year.
Ryanair Blames Air Traffic Control Failure Amid Industry Concerns
Ryanair, one of the largest corporate offenders in Europe, only discloses the average carbon emissions per kilometer for its flights, but it is probable that the record number of passengers corresponded to an increase in carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming.
Despite robust profits in recent months, the airline industry took advantage of the air traffic control failure to express its displeasure with Nats, whose services are costly. In an interlude to its regular traffic release, Ryanair stated on Monday that the “computer ‘failure’ […] has still not been explained.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) demanded changes to the rules governing who is responsible for the costs of disruptions, arguing that airlines were not culpable for the pandemonium but had to spend up to £100 million on refunds and other costs, such as replacing flights.
Willie Walsh, the director general of Iata, stated, “It is extremely unfair that the air traffic control system, which was at the center of this failure, is not compensated in any way.”
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Source: The Guardian
