Ryanair has harshly criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for contiguous betterment of the European aerial postulation power (ATC) strategy to support overflights successful the lawsuit of strikes, or... her resignation.
According to a connection from the institution connected Thursday, the caller 24-hour onslaught by French aerial postulation controllers caused serious, avoidable delays to much than 190 flights and affected astatine slightest 35,000 Ryanair passengers, with delays of up to 3 hours.
Ryanair stresses that astir 70% of the flights affected by today's onslaught were "overflights", i.e. planetary flights that simply transverse French airspace without having a destination oregon root successful France.
It is inconceivable that these overflight delays could person been avoided if Ursula von der Leyen had taken immoderate measures successful the past 6 years to support the Single Market successful aerial transport, by separating the precocious airspace and allowing Eurocontrol to negociate overflights during nationalist ATC strikes, the institution underlines.
Ryanair besides cites the Draghi Competitiveness Report (September 2024), which highlights the tremendous economical outgo of delays and malfunctions successful European ATC. The institution is calling for 2 cardinal reforms:
- Mandatory afloat staffing of nationalist power services for the archetypal question of greeting flights, with fines for failure.
- Ensuring extortion of overflights during nationalist strikes.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary accused Ursula von der Leyen of “doing thing for six years” to resoluteness the issue, informing that if nary enactment is taken, European airlines volition look a caller question of cancellations from the adjacent planned onslaught by French controllers connected 7–9 October.
As helium characteristically states, “If President von “Derlayed-Again” does not support overflights during nationalist ATC strikes, past she should measurement down and fto idiosyncratic liable bash the job. Europe needs betterment and competitiveness. We don't request useless politicians who committedness betterment but bash nothing. Passengers flying from London to Rome oregon from Brussels to Madrid shouldn't beryllium held hostage each clip there's a nationalist ATC onslaught due to the fact that Ursula von "Derlayed-Again" isn't doing her job!
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