Air Traffic Management contributed to this, with en-route delays of 4.6 minutes per flight, up 52% on 2023 and the second worst year ever.
The poor performance can be attributed to a combination of factors – a structural lack of capacity by some air navigation service providers (ANSPs) e.g. due to a lack of air traffic controllers, some ANSPs not delivering the capacity originally committed in preparation for the summer, the unexpectedly high traffic growth in some areas, frequent convective weather during the summer and a high volume of flights not adhering to their original flight plan.
A strong commitment and collaboration by all involved stakeholders will be needed to work on the identified issues and ensure a better performance of the European network in summer 2025. Beyond these measures, a deeper structural reform is needed to face medium to long term challenges, such as the expected traffic growth and the effects of climate change.