for the passengers another summer of passion. The Ita-Corriere.it case

The punctuality of flights in Europe is approaching its all-time low these days registered last summer. While it is already lower than that of 2019, when there was a traffic record before the outbreak of the pandemic. But unlike twelve months ago when the lack of personnel and careless planning had led to the cancellation of thousands of connections, the loss of tens of thousands of bags and the collapse of dozens of European but not Italian airports, this time the planes took off or landed after the scheduled time they also register in Italy. With Lcomplaints by several passengers also against Ita Airways, until a few months ago it was one of the most punctual carriers in the world.

The Italian case

It is precisely the data on Ita Airways’ punctuality that give a good idea: if in May 2022, according to the specialized company Cirium, the Italian company took off on 15 October 2021 it was the fourth in Europe for flights operated “on time”, i.e. arriving no later than 14 minutes (with 87.14% of punctual landings) this year, the same month, Ita does not appear in the top ten European carriers best able to meet their schedule, falling below 73%. Several travelers – on social media and via email – have complained about changes in flight times with take-offs shifting by up to 4-5 hours, making the trip difficult in some cases for work, study or personal reasons.

From the Italian airline they acknowledge the delays, they claim to be the eighth most punctual traditional company in Europe in the period 1 January to 18 June 2023 and explain that these inconveniences are affecting all airlines in Europe. According to Eurocontrol, in the week 15-21 June on the continent less than six out of ten flights took off on time (57.4%) just over six out of ten landed at the scheduled time (64.1%). Data that are improving by 3.6-3.8% compared to the same period of 2022, but worse by 9.1% compared to 2019. More or less since May 1st the punctuality curves have been going downwards. In Italy, the punctuality of departures was 54.1% – lower than the European average -, while that of arrivals was 66.4%.

The causes

But what is happening? The factors are different. On the one hand, European skies are also clogged due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace and in the last few days for a NATO maxi-exercise over Germany which restricts the movement of aircraft with passengers. On the other hand, the strikes – by air traffic controllers, handling, pilots and first officers, other workers in the sector – have further reduced the regularity of connections. Delays in the delivery of new planes are also forcing airlines to review routes, possibly cutting where necessary and minimizing inconvenience. Not to mention the waves of local bad weather that force the jets to circle longer to get around the disturbance. More than one expert also reports that several airlines have put more flights up for sale than they are able to operate because they relied on on-day delivery of newly purchased aircraft, which is happening very slowly due to the shortage of material to assemble the fuselages.