DALLAS — UK-based low-cost airline EasyJet (U2) has canceled 1,700 flights from its summer schedule due to air traffic control delays in Europe.

As the summer season begins in Europe, the skies become more and more congested. Due to air traffic regulations, most European airlines have to delay or cancel flights during the summer season. To limit the impact of last-minute cancellations, U2's flight cancellations all take place in July, August, and September this year.

According to airlinedata.com, these cancellations represent about 3% of the airline's summer flights in the UK. With an average of 175 seats per flight, these flights represent about 30,000 tickets, some of which were already sold.

The airline said 95% of customers whose ticket was canceled are being rebooked onto an alternative flight, and all of these customers who were impacted by these cancellations were provided with the option to rebook or receive a refund.

Congested European Airspace

The airline industry almost fully recovering from the Covid pandemic, reaching about 93% of pre-pandemic levels in Europe. According to Eurocontrol's data, the UK is the continent's busiest country, ahead of Spain, Germany, and France.

However, only 60% of European flights departed on time last week, a little bit worst than in 2019. The most delayed major European airport is London Gatwick (LGW), with an average of 40% on-time departures and 42% on-time arrivals. Most U2 canceled flights depart from this airport, which represents alone over 35% of the airline's flights from the UK.

After delays and flight cancellations during Spring 2023 due to Air Traffic Controller strikes, airlines now have to adapt in order to keep operations smooth during the very busy summer season.

Featured image: EasyJet Airbus A319 taxiing at Manchester Airport (MAN). Photo: Daniel Crawford/Airways